


think we're overthinking it

by lotts (LottieAnna)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff and Smut, Fuckbuddies To Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Podfic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Available, Podfic Length: 2-2.5 Hours, failed attempts at being chill, making fun of straight people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2018-11-30 07:17:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11458704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LottieAnna/pseuds/lotts
Summary: The first time Mitch picks up a guy, Auston’s convinced he’s hallucinating.(Or: Auston and Mitch eventually talk about their feelings, even if they keep putting it off. Whatever.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> IF YOU FOUND THIS THROUGH GOOGLING, KNOW ANYONE MENTIONED IN THIS STORY PERSONALLY, OR ARE MENTIONED YOURSELF: please, please click away. This is a work of fiction and nothing written in this story is true. Any accurate information used in this story is publicly available information about public figures, the rest is made up, 100%
> 
> Thanks to thealidoyle, tots, dexy, and ftc for reading this and leaving comments which ranged from hilarious to immensely helpful. Title is from "Body Language" by Carly Rae Jepsen, Queen of Fic Titles.
> 
> Detailed trigger warnings in the endnotes!

 

The first time Mitch picks up a guy, Auston’s convinced he’s hallucinating.

He does an honest-to-god double take when he sees Mitch talking to a guy at the bar one night early in the season when they’re all out with the team. He’s putting moves on him, moves that Auston can recognize even though they’re out of earshot. Mitch is laughing at something the guy is saying, and Auston’s willing to bet that it’s not actually that funny– not just because the idea of Mitch flirting with a guy is doing weird things to his stomach, but because Auston knows what Mitch looks like when he laughs genuinely, and that’s not it, which means Mitch is selling it.

Because he’s flirting with this guy.

Because Mitch flirts with guys in bars, apparently.  

Then, the guy puts his hand on Mitch’s forearm, and Mitch leans into the touch, and Auston realizes he’s staring, so he rips his eyes away from the scene and focuses, as much as he can, on the story Freddie is telling him.

* * *

As far as Auston can tell, Mitch isn’t actually out of the closet.

He notices Mitch trying to be subtle, casting quick glances over to where the team is sitting before he does something too obvious, like leaning in to whisper in a guy’s ear, or stroking a finger down his wrist.

If Auston’s being honest, it’s kind of weird. If Mitch is trying to be subtle, he probably shouldn’t be hitting on dudes while his teammates can see him. Auston feels kind of bad for watching, too, feels like he’s invading something private and secret. But the rest of the guys see what Mitch is doing, see him talking to these guys, and they must think he’s just… being friendly, or something. So really, the only thing that Auston’s doing is realizing stuff that other guys aren’t.

It occurs to Auston that Mitch is relying on the cluelessness of straight people. Auston gets it– straight guys don’t notice shit, and that goes double for straight hockey players. He’d watched Werenski tell a guy from USNTDP that he had Grindr because he was looking for threesomes, or something, and the guy had believed it, had even considered downloading it himself. It had been an eye-opening experience for Auston.  

So: it’s probably a thing Mitch has been doing since the O, if he’s been out that long. Maybe it’s standard practice for gay guys in the League looking to hook up. Auston’s not really sure, because while he’s into dudes, he’s not really into hooking up, so he just keeps on watching Mitch do it instead.

The guys chirp Mitch for never getting laid, and Mitch laughs and shrugs and plays along, and then goes and finds a guy the second he thinks no one’s paying attention.

Auston should talk to him about it. Being gay and playing hockey is so much easier and so much better when you have someone to share it with. They’re friends, too– or at least, they carpool together and Mitch is as friendly to him as he is to everyone else. But Auston doesn’t know how to bring it up, so he doesn’t, and instead watches Mitch flirt with guy after guy.

He can’t pretend not to stare when Mitch comes in with a hickey on his collarbone, and Auston knows the other guys think it’s just a bruise, but Auston had seen a blonde guy in a tight shirt buy Mitch a drink last night, and he can’t stop thinking about it, not when it’s right there.

“What’s that?” Auston says, because he apparently has no impulse control.

“Just a bruise,” Mitch says, holding his hand up to cover it. He looks embarrassed, and he’s not meeting Auston’s eye.

“Ice it,” Auston says.

Mitch rolls his eyes, but Auston sees him visibly relax. “No shit,” he says.

“Don’t go home and fall right asleep,” Auston says, and he can see how tired Mitch looks. He doesn’t know if it’s from practice or from being out late having sex with the blonde guy. It’s probably both.

“Alright, fair,” Mitch says. “Come over, you can keep me up.”

Auston tries to seem nonchalant about the invitation. “Sure thing,” he says. “Chel?”

“Duh. No fun playing CoD against you,” Mitch says, and Auston shoves him lightly.

He doesn’t think Mitch notices him being weird.

* * *

They’re at a bar in LA, celebrating a victory against the Kings, and drinking after a win is way more fun than drinking after a loss. Everyone’s insisting on buying the next round, except for Mo and Gards, who keep volunteering each other. It’s fun and happy and light, and Auston’s really drunk by the time his eyes land on Mitch, who must also be drunk, because he’s being less subtle than usual.

The guy he’s talking to is taller than him, and Mitch’s hands are on his shoulders as he stands on his toes to whisper something in his ear, and it must be something good, because the guy blushes at him and nods. Then, Mitch turns his head in the direction of their table, and Auston quickly looks away, hoping he hasn’t been caught. By the time he looks back, Mitch and the guy have both disappeared, and Auston realizes what must be happening.

He thinks that maybe he should stop it, but he doesn’t really know how to without telling Mitch that he knows he hooks up with dudes, and Auston doesn’t think that will help Mitch at all. So instead Auston stays where he is, hoping Mitch comes back soon, and that everything’s okay, and because he’s worried, he sends Mitch a text. _u good?_ is all it says, and Auston doesn’t think that’s too incriminating; worst-case scenario, he comes across as overly worried, and gets a few chirps for it.

Mitch doesn’t text back, though.

Auston starts to get really concerned when it gets close to curfew, and the guys are starting to leave. They won’t fully clear out without Mitch, which means that soon enough, other guys will start looking for him. And if Mitch is in a compromising position–

Well. Auston doesn’t really want to think about the kind of compromising position Mitch might be in, but he does feel some sense of gay solidarity, which is why he sneaks away from the table and calls Mitch.

“Hello?” Mitch says, and he sounds breathless when he picks up the phone.

“Hey,” Auston says, suddenly feeling awkward and kind of dumb. “Uh, it’s almost curfew–”

“What the fuck?” Mitch says, and there’s a bit of rustling on his end. “Fuck, I did not realize, man.”

“No, you have time, if you’re– you’re still at the club, right?”

“Yeah,” Mitch says. “Just– I’ll be back in a second.”

“Cool, meet me at the table, we can split a cab,” Auston says.

“Sweet, give me a second,” Mitch says.

Auston returns to the table, and Marty looks at him as he does. “Found one rookie,” he says. “Have you seen Mitchy?”

“Yeah, we’re heading back soon,” Auston says.

“Perfect, we were just about to send out a search party,” Marty says, which means Auston’s timing wasn’t terrible.

Marty and the rest of the guys leave before Mitch gets back, so it’s just Auston sitting at the table when a dishevelled Mitch returns.  

“Shit, sorry,” he says, and he looks incredibly guilty.

“You’re good,” Auston says.

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” Mitch says, and Auston can see how flushed his face is, and how his clothes are slightly more rumpled than they were earlier, his hair a little more mussed.

“Kinda did, man,” Auston says. “Team policy.”

“Thanks anyway,” Mitch says, and Auston just shrugs and leads them out of the club.

Mitch waits until they’re in the cab before he says, “I hooked up with someone tonight.”

“Kinda figured,” Auston says, trying to seem as neutral as possible.

“Did you see–” Mitch starts, but Auston cuts him off.

“I meant because of– you know, your hair and stuff.”

“Fuck, I tried to fix it,” Mitch says. “I don’t– I don’t usually do that.”

“Hook up?” Auston says.

“I mean– not in front of the guys,” Mitch says. “Did anyone else notice?”

“No one said anything,” Auston says, and then, “I don’t really, either.”

“In general, or in front of the guys?”

Auston shrugs. “Both, I guess?”

“Right,” Mitch says. “Why?”

“Uh,” Auston says, unsure of how to answer; now’s not the best time to come out, especially considering that the cab driver is right there, even if he does have headphones in, but he doesn’t know how else to explain it. “We all have our reasons, right?”

“Wonder if our reasons are the same,” Mitch says, and he sounds kind of bitter.

“Could be,” Auston says.

“Doubt it,” Mitch mutters.

Auston looks at him for a long, purposeful moment before he repeats, “They could be.”

Mitch kind of stares at him after that, his eyes going slightly wide for just a second. “What do you think my reasons are?”

“I don’t have any idea,” Auston says, “but I sure know mine.”

The rest of the cab ride is silent after that.

* * *

Mitch doesn’t pick up for the next few weeks, which Auston has mixed feelings about.

He can’t pretend that he loved seeing Mitch go home with guy after guy, can’t pretend it didn’t stir some vague feelings of jealousy in him, but he also doesn’t love the idea that Mitch is more on edge, somehow, hiding even more because Auston maybe told him that he might know something that Mitch wasn’t ready for him to know.

There’s a nonzero chance that it has nothing to do with Auston. It could just be that he had an incredibly close call and is dialing back for a bit, staying close to the group and not risking anyone figuring things out. Which doesn’t make Auston any less concerned, but it does make him feel less guilty.

Mitch doesn’t seem unhappy, which is nice. He’s still his usual cheerful self, just a bit more present at Auston’s side when they go out, and Auston doesn’t mind at all, especially not when Mitch laughs at one of his jokes, because that’s a real Mitch laugh, not the fake one he gives to guys at bars, and it’s always better, Auston thinks, to have Mitch laugh like this.

* * *

Mitch has been pretty much plastered to Auston’s side the whole night, even more than usual, and Auston doesn’t realize what’s happening until they’re relatively alone at the table and Mitch’s foot casually bumps Auston’s leg.

“Hey,” Auston says, smiling, because it’s Mitch.

Mitch only shrugs and smiles playfully at him, and Auston’s heart skips a beat.

“So,” Mitch says, and he leans into Auston’s space a little bit, “not to be an asshole, but your drink looks terrible.”

“You haven’t tasted it,” Auston says, and he feels the butterflies forming in his stomach. Mitch is a flirt usually, but this isn’t his usual cuddly-bro-type flirting. This is the kind of conversation Auston’s watched Mitch have from a distance more times than he can count, and the words he’s only imagined coming out of Mitch’s mouth are all of a sudden being directed at him.

Mitch steals his drink from his hand and takes a sip. “Yep, terrible. I’m gonna get you a new one.”

“You don’t have to–”

“I insist,” Mitch says, his smile easy.

It should say something about Auston that he recognizes every move Mitch is making, but still falls for it anyway, even pretends to like the too-sweet cocktail that Mitch picked out for him better than his rum and Coke.

“I have great taste,” Mitch says, and Auston wonders how the fuck Mitch is so good at this.

“I guess so,” Auston says, smiling at Mitch and raising an eyebrow at him.

“You know,” Mitch says, and he runs his fingers up and down Auston’s arm, “I feel like the guys are clearing out.” He looks up at Auston and raises his eyebrows, almost daring Auston to move away from his touch.

Auston doesn’t. “Looks like it,” he says, even though he has no clue whether or not it’s true.

“We should head back,” Mitch says. “Wanna hang out at mine?”

“Yep,” Auston says, looking Mitch straight in the eye.

“Cool,” Mitch says, and he seems content with Auston’s answer. “You can call the cab.”

Auston does.

The ride is normal, except for the fact that Auston’s pressed his leg up against Mitch’s, and it’s not long before they’re in front of Mitch’s place, and then they’re inside.

“Uh,” Mitch says, and he looks less sure of himself than he had at the bar. “What’d you want to do?”

“I mean,” Auston says, and he walks over to Mitch, putting his arms around Mitch’s waist. “I’m fine with whatever.”

“Yeah?” Mitch says, putting his hands over Auston’s shoulders and leaning against the door. He pulls Auston a little closer, and Auston thinks he’s gonna be the first one to lean in, but he doesn’t, so Auston does.

Mitch is a really good kisser– like, really, incredibly good. He’s clearly pretty keyed up, and Auston is too, because it’s Mitch. He’s imagined doing this more times than he’d admit, thought about what it would feel like to have Mitch’s hips under his hands, to see his face looking up at him, red and flushed, even pictured this exact moment, pictured surrounding Mitch the way he is now, because Auston’s greedy, alright? He wants to touch, to have, to kiss, he wants to make him blush and groan and–

“Bedroom?” Mitch says breathlessly, pulling away, and for a second, all Auston can think is that he wants to kiss Mitch again, but then his brain catches up to the rest of him.

“Yeah,” Auston says, not taking his eyes off of Mitch’s mouth, because it’s red from kissing him, and he wants to catalogue everything about the way Mitch looks right now.

Then Mitch smiles, and Auston kind of melts. “Come on, then,” he says, and starts down the hall, Auston scrambling after him.

Once they’re there, Mitch slams the door behind him and starts kissing Auston again, dragging them both onto the bed as he kicks off his shoes. Auston does the same, but they’re still wearing a lot of clothing, more than Auston would like, especially considering how hard he is.

Auston sits up, straddling Mitch, and strips his shirt off, and Mitch stares at him as he does. “Holy shit,” Mitch says.

“Nothing you haven’t seen before,” Auston says, and he’s tugging at the hem of Mitch’s shirt now

“No, just– never mind,” Mitch says, pulling his shirt over his head, and Auston wants to push it, but Mitch is shirtless, now, and running his hands up and down Mitch’s torso seems much more important than that.

“Let me touch you,” Auston says, and he presses a kiss to the button of Mitch’s jeans. Mitch groans, and Auston can tell that he’s hard, too, which is incredibly hot.

_He wants me,_ Auston thinks, and he doesn’t know if he’ll still want him tomorrow, but right now, Auston’s unbuttoning Mitch’s pants, and as he pulls them off, he can see that Mitch is leaking precum already, and it’s so much, to think that Mitch wants him– is almost desperate for him, by the way he’s squirming under Auston’s touch– and Auston’s going to drag this out for as much as possible

“I’m gonna blow you,” Auston says, not taking his eyes off Mitch, who’s wearing only his boxers, now.

“What?” Mitch says, and Auston looks up and realizes that Mitch didn’t hear him,

“Can I blow you?” Auston repeats, asking this time,  and Mitch raises his eyebrows in surprise.

“Yeah, yeah, god yeah, just– don’t know how long I’ll last,” Mitch confesses, and Auston feels his own dick twitch at that.

“Alright,” Auston says, and he gets up and takes off his own pants, because he plans to take his time with this. “Sit on the edge of the bed.”

Mitch does, and Auston kneels in front of him, staring at the way Mitch’s dick is straining against the fabric of his underwear. He kisses Mitch’s thighs, and Mitch makes a noise.

“How’d I know you’d be a tease?” Mitch groans impatiently.

“Thought about this?” Auston says, and Mitch blushes.

“Maybe I have,” Mitch says. “Come on, you’re taking forever.”

Auston hums. “I think I want to take my time,” he says.

Mitch gulps at that, then faux-huffs. “Alright,” he says, but Auston can see his dick twitch again, knows he likes that Auston’s going to savor this.

He does take off Mitch’s underwear, gently encouraging him to lift his hips so he can slide them off, and Mitch is so hard it takes all of Auston’s effort to hold back. Instead of taking him in his mouth all at once, though, he gently thumbs at the head, spreading around the precum, and Mitch whines.

“Fuck,” he chokes out. “Dude, you gotta–”

“Give me a sec,” Auston says, and he jerks Mitch once, experimentally.

“Oh my god,” Mitch says, tilting his head all the way back and groaning.

Auston doesn’t say anything, just puts his mouth on the head of Mitch’s dick, and listens to the noises Mitch makes in response.

“Fuck, fuck, you’re– holy fuck,” Mitch says.

Auston takes a little more in his mouth, then pulls off. “You like that?”

“ _Fuck,_ yes,” Mitch says. “God, you’re– this is unfair, oh my god.”

“Maybe I’d speed up if you asked nicely,” Auston says.

He means it as a joke, but Mitch’s voice is shaky when he says, “Please, Auston.”

He can’t help the groan that escapes his lips, and he puts a hand around Mitch’s dick and guides it into his mouth, until it hits the back of his throat. Mitch lets out a whine in response, and his hips buck up a bit. Auston would tell him not to, but he doesn’t want to let Mitch’s dick out of his mouth, so instead, he presses a hand on Mitch’s hip, and Mitch gets the message.

It’s kind of amazing to watch him hold back, though, and Auston’s not looking up, too focused on the task at hand, but based on the noises Mitch is making, he can only imagine what his face looks like.

“Fuck,” Mitch says. “I want to come in your mouth.” Auston looks up when he says that, and he sees that Mitch is looking back down at him, and fuck if it’s not the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. “Oh, shit–” Mitch says, and tosses his head back, and he’s coming, right in the back of Auston’s throat.

Auston sucks him through it, and Mitch is silent, his hips bucking up every so often as he finishes.

“Holy shit,” Mitch says, still gasping a bit. “Sorry.”

Auston blinks up at him. “Sorry…?”

“You know, I didn’t– it kinda, um,  took me by surprise. Didn’t give you any warning.”

Auston shakes his head. “Nah, you’re good,” he says, and wipes at the corner of his mouth.

“I want to–” Mitch says, and then he yanks at Auston’s shoulder. “C’mere, I wanna get you off,” he says, and Auston obliges, and climbs onto the bed.

“Can’t believe you’re still wearing these,” Mitch says, his fingers slipping under the waistband of Auston’s boxers.

“Neither can I,” Auston says as Mitch takes them off.

He straddles Auston as he jerks him off, and Auston’s so worked up already that he doesn’t even need lube. It’s hard and fast and exactly what Auston needs, after being so patient and so turned on for so long. It’s been so long since someone else touched him, too, and maybe that’s the reason he comes so fast, all over Mitch’s hand and his stomach.

It takes him a second to catch his breath once they’re done, and Mitch hands him a tissue from the nightstand. They clean themselves up as best as they can, and then Mitch lies down on the bed.

“So,” Mitch says, “you’re, like, really good at that.”

“Thanks,” Auston says, turning his head to face Mitch, smiling. “You too.”

“Thanks,” Mitch says. “Not my best work, though.”

Auston laughs. “I’ll take your word for it. I thought it was great.”

“Yeah?” Mitch says, smiling at Auston.

“Yeah,” Auston says, and he stretches an arm around Mitch, pulls him into his chest, and kisses the top of his head.

“Thanks,” Mitch says, settling onto Auston. “You can sleep over, by the way.”

“We have practice tomorrow,” Auston says, and Mitch shrugs.

“I usually stop by your place anyway,” he points out. “S’not a big deal. It’s fine if you don’t want to, though.”

“No, I will,” Auston says.

“Cool,” Mitch says, and Auston can feel him smile.

* * *

The problem is, they never really talk about it.

It’s not weird, the next morning, but it is rushed, because they accidentally sleep through Mitch’s alarm, so they barely have time to get ready and only barely remember to stop by Auston’s place and grab his hockey gear.

Mitch does end up wearing Auston’s shirt from the night before, and because Mitch has no idea how to buy a t-shirt that fits, Auston gets to steal one of his.

It’s a little tight on him, but it smells like Mitch, so Auston doesn’t complain.

Practice is almost eerily normal, aside from the fact that every so often, Auston will look over at Mitch and think, _he came in my mouth,_ then get flustered and turn away. No one seems to notice. Auston still worries that he’s being obvious.

It’s frustrating after practice, too, because Auston’s spent so long in the closet that he’s pretty much an expert at not staring at guys in the locker room, but now he can’t keep his eyes off of Mitch. He thinks, _I kissed that_ as Mitch scratches the place where his neck meets his shoulder, _my hands were there_ as Mitch shimmies out of his hockey pants.

“What’s up?” Willy says from besides him, and Auston nearly jumps. “You’re super spacey today, man.”

“I dunno, just zoned out for a bit,” he lies. The truth is, he’s super zoned _in_ , aware of everything Mitch is doing right now, and it’s fucking with his head, a little bit.

“Sure,” Willy says, and there might be a hint of skepticism in his voice, but he turns back to his locker and continues to undress

Mitch is Auston’s ride home, and Auston thinks they’re gonna talk about it in the car, but they don’t. Or, rather, they don’t until they’re turning onto Auston’s street, and Mitch turns off the radio, mid-song.

“So,” he says. “We’re cool, right?”

“Yeah, no, totally cool,” Auston says.

“I mean, about… you know, last night,” Mitch says. “I mean, it’s fine, we don’t– I just don’t want things to get weird, you know?”

“They won’t,” Auston says, and then, “I had fun.”

“Yeah?” Mitch says, and when Auston looks over, he sees a small, pleased smile on Mitch’s face.

“Yeah,” Auston says, and he can’t help but smile too. “I mean– if you want, we could– uh, do it again?” He kind of hate how unsure he sounds. It’s probably not unreasonable for him to at least ask, but he still feels the need to say, “I mean, only if you want. It’s not– it won’t be weird if you say no.”

Mitch stops the car because they’re at Auston’s house. “You want to do that… again?” He sounds surprised,

“Uh,” Auston says, “yeah? I mean, it was–”

“No, yeah, it was great, I just– I didn’t think you’d want to,” Mitch says. “But if you do– that’s good. That’s cool. Yeah, that’s like, solid, we can do that,” he says.

“Alright,” Auston says, a little put off by Mitch’s reaction. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, sorry if I– I’m being weird, or whatever, I’m not trying to, I swear. Everything’s coming out wrong. Like, yes, we can do that again, that’s like, preferable to not doing it again. I mean– that makes it sound less like I think it’s good than it is, crap, I don’t know. Whatever. The point is that I want to hook up with you again.”

“Okay,” Auston says, still confused, but also a little bit pleased. “Then, we should–”

“Just, not right now, I have stuff to do,” Mitch blurts out.

Auston blinks. “I wasn’t thinking right now.”

“Then what were you going to say?” Mitch says, and it’s his turn to look confused.

“I–” Auston starts, and then stops, because he was gonna suggest they set a date for it. Not a date-date, just a time and place, but still, they’re not talking about planning anything, just like, some vague idea of sex in the future. and Auston doesn’t want to be the one to push things further than that. “It was nothing, don’t worry about it,” he says.

“Okay,” Mitch says. “Well, I’ll see you, probably tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Auston says.

“And, uh– next time, I’ll be better,” Mitch says, his face looking so serious that it takes Auston a second to realize what he’s talking about.

When he does, though, it startles a laugh out of him. “Dude,” he says.

“No, I will,” Mitch says. “I feel bad.”

“Why?” Auston says.

Mitch’s face turns red. “I mean– you were doing all the work, and like– I don’t know. It was my idea.”

“No, I’m  pretty sure it was both of our ideas,” Auston says. “Like– I don’t know, do what you want, but it was great.”

“You did all the teasing and stuff,” Mitch says. “I don’t know, that was really, uh– really good. For me.”

“Fine, next time, you can be a tease, alright?” Auston says, and he’s giggling as he climbs out of the car.

“Fuck off, I’m gonna rock your fucking world,” Mitch says as Auston closes the door behind him.

He gives Mitch a thumbs-up sign.

* * *

The second time it happens is a lot like the first, in that it’s after a game. This time, though, they’re in New York, and they’ve lost, and Auston’s really fucking angry about it.

“That was fucking rough,” Mitch says, sitting down next to Auston and sliding him a beer. “Just– fuck, I wanna get my mind off it, you know?” His foot nudges Auston’s.

“Same here,” Auston says, even though he doesn’t even know if that’s possible. “And, uh, thanks.”

“No problem,” Mitch says, giving him a small smile.

The sting of the loss starts to fade as Auston drinks his beer, but he thinks it’s the warm, constant pressure of Mitch’s knee on his thigh that does it, not the alcohol.

They spend most of their time trash-talking the Rangers, because it’s more fun than thinking about how they blew another lead. The conversation drags Auston out of his own head a little, too, and he even cracks a smile a couple of times.

Every time he tries to make a self-deprecatory comment, Mitch stops him, too– not in a really obvious way, but it’s deliberate, Auston can tell. Mitch even points out some of the things they did right, which Auston doesn’t really do after losing, because it usually doesn’t help.

Coming from Mitch, it kind of does.

Auston’s not used to someone else being there for him the way Mitch is, but it’s hardly a secret that Mitch is a really good friend, so Auston just… lets it happen, even if it’s not what he’s used to, because it’s nice letting someone take care of him, a little bit.

Then, Mitch says, “I’m gonna go back to the hotel. You wanna?”

“Yeah,” Auston says, without hesitation.

The mood doesn’t really shift, though. Mitch isn’t really flirting with him, per se, just talking about hockey and cracking jokes and being himself, which is, in Auston’s view, much better than flirting.

When they get back to Mitch’s hotel room, Auston closes the door behind him and Mitch kisses him pretty much immediately.

“Is this alright?” Mitch says. “It’s cool if you’re– we can keep talking.”

Auston does like talking, but he really just likes Mitch, if he’s being honest with himself. “This is good,” Auston says.

Mitch smiles. “Sweet,” he says, “because I have big plans.”

“Really,” Auston says, smiling back. “What are your plans?”

“I think,” Mitch says, “I’m gonna jerk you off.” He pauses, and then says, “But I’m gonna make it really good, promise.”

Auston laughs a bit. “I believe you.”

“Good. Take off your clothes,” Mitch says.

“You too,” Auston says. “I wanna see you.”

“You see me all the time,” Mitch says, but strips down to his boxers anyway, as Auston takes off everything, feeling Mitch’s appreciative gaze on him the entire time.

He lets Mitch guide him to the bed, and lies down. Mitch gets on top of him and kisses him all the way down his chest.

A laugh escapes Auston’s lips, and Mitch looks up at him and frowns. “What?”

“Sorry, kinda tickles,” Auston says hurriedly. “Don’t stop though, promise I’ll stop.”

Mitch fucking beams at him, and Auston doesn’t know why he’s so happy, but he smiles back anyway. Mitch goes back to kissing him, which, even if it does tickle, feels so fucking good. He finally presses a kiss to the top of Auston’s thigh, then presses his hand there, and Auston is so hard now, just from Mitch being so close.

Mitch doesn’t touch him for a bit, which is probably payback for last time, so Auston doesn’t complain in earnest, but Mitch presses a kiss at the base of his cock, and Auston lets out a little whine.

“Shit,” Mitch says, his voice in a whisper. “Keep making noises like that.” Then, he wraps a hand around Auston’s cock and rubs his thumb over the top, where Auston’s leaking precum, and fuck, he’s so turned on already.

“Oh my god,” Auston moans.

“Yeah, like that,” Mitch says. “You sound so good.”

Auston doesn’t really know what to say to that, but he figures he doesn’t have to respond, because Mitch jerks him once, and it’s so warm but so, so slow.

Auston gasps, and Mitch gives him an appreciative look.

“You know, you’re really hot,” Mitch says. “Like, not just to look at. You fucking”– he squeezes Auston a bit tighter– “shit, I jerked off thinking about last time, you know. Like, the next day.”

“You can’t just– just say that,” Auston says, and then he moans, because Mitch’s mouth is on his dick.

It’s just for a second, and then Mitch is talking again. “What, you don’t like hearing about it?” Mitch says.

“Alright, fair enough,” Auston says, and his voice is breathy.

“That was one of the best fucking blowjobs I’ve ever had,” Mitch says. “You were so into it.”

“I liked it, I told you,” Auston manages to get out between gasps. He doesn’t know how he’s having this conversation, but there’s something about the way Mitch is speaking that’s making his head spin in a way that feels really, really good.

“You and I both,” Mitch says. “You’re so good at that. Which,” Mitch says, and he starts stroking Auston faster, “I shouldn’t be surprised, you’re just… so good at things, you know?”

Auston might make a noise, but he’s too caught up in the sound and the sight and the feeling of Mitch right now to know.

“You have this look on your face when you get, like, really focused, and it’s so fucking hot. I wanted to take my time, you know, but I kind of had to make you come as fast as possible.”

“Mitch,” Auston whimpers. Mitch is jerking him hard and fast, now, and Auston’s probably gonna be done soon if he keeps it up.

“Fuck, when you say my name like that–” Mitch says, and then he leans forward and kisses Auston.

It’s so good that Auston doesn’t want to break it off, but he does. “I’m close,” he says.

“Oh my god, yes,” Mitch says.

Auston comes right then, with a loud whine. It’s an intense orgasm, because of the build, and because it’s Mitch, and Auston’s dizzy from how good it feels and how overwhelmed he is.

Mitch works him through it, and Auston has to take a second to breathe when he’s done.

“Fuck,” Mitch says. “That was… holy shit, so good.”

“Mmm,” Auston says, because he doesn’t quite know how to form words again yet.

Mitch climbs off of Auston, then starts to rifle through his bag. He comes up with a package of tissues, and takes one for himself before tossing it to Auston.

“Are you– do you want me to?” Auston says.

Mitch shakes his head. “I’m good, man,” he says, wiping jizz– _Auston’s_ jizz– off his hand.

Auston furrows his brow. “Are you sure?”

“I’m fine, I promise,” Mitch says.

“I feel bad,” Auston says.

“Don’t,” Mitch says. “I’m like, satisfied.”

“If you say so,” Auston says.

“I say so. Now, come on, I wanna spoon you.”

“Pushy,” Auston says, but he lets it happen, because he’s tired, and Mitch is warm, and he just came the hardest he’s ever come in his life.

* * *

The third time it happens is the next morning in the shower, and after that, Auston stops keeping count.

Over the course of the next few weeks, they have sex every day, which is pretty impressive, considering how busy they are. But somehow, they manage to find their way back to one of their apartments, or get their road roomies to switch on the road, or even, on a few occasions, mess around in the back of Mitch’s car.

They hang out normally, too, but the sex stuff doesn’t really come up. Which makes sense– usually they’re watching a Jays game or playing CoD or something, and Auston doesn’t know how it would come up at all. But they don’t talk about it, and it seems intentional on both their parts.

Auston figures it’s sort of just how the whole “friends-with-benefits” thing works, which, as far as he can tell, is what they’re doing. Or at least, it’s objectively not wrong in the sense that he could get away with calling it that while giving a testimony under oath.

It’s really hard not to overthink it.

The thing is, Mitch during sex is pretty incredible– he’s so open, all the time, wears everything he wants on his sleeve. He asks for whatever he wants, and he pushes Auston to do the same.

“We’re both just here to have a good time,” Mitch says. “So like, you gotta be upfront with me, dude.”

The words _just here to have a good time_ echo in Auston’s head, another piece in the puzzle that is The Mitch Thing.

Mitch, in general, is pretty big on talking about sex before they have it, and sometimes Auston wishes he could extend those conversations without worrying about killing the mood, but mostly he’s impatient and wants to get to Mitch as soon as possible.

And for a few weeks, things are simple: they have good sex, hang out as good friends, and play good hockey, and that’s fine. It’s almost perfect, even.

Auston’s good at ignoring things, because he was a gay kid who played hockey, so he knows he can ignore the things that aren’t perfect, especially because they’re all on him. Like, when Marty spends the night trying to set Mitch up, and Mitch politely brushes off every one of his suggestions as Auston digs his nails into his palm so hard that there are marks for days. Or when they’re sitting on Auston’s couch playing video games, and Mitch’s feet are on Auston’s lap, and Auston has the urge to like, lean down and kiss his leg. Or when they’re walking side-by-side, and there are fucking cameras there, but Auston still wants to grab Mitch’s hand anyway.

But he gets Mitch, so much of Mitch that he can’t imagine having any more of him, and he doesn’t want to risk having to give that up. Mitch wants him, and that thought still excites him, even if it surprises him less and less. He pins him against the wall and sucks him off after good practices, whispers filthy things in his ear as he jerks him off, makes amazing noises as Auston fingers him. He takes care of Auston when he needs it, and lets himself be taken care of too, asks for it sometimes, even.

“Can you– like the first time,” Mitch says once after a particularly rough game. “I feel bad asking.”

“You mean you want me to go down on you?”

Mitch’s face reddens. “It’s not really that part of it. Just– when you, uh, took your time? And did, just, whatever you wanted? Like, it just made me feel–” he doesn’t finish the sentence, but Auston knows what he means. “Just, I don’t know, I don’t really want to think right now? Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Auston says, his voice soft. “Here, lie back, I’ll get these clothes off of you.”

Mitch gives him a grateful smile, then lies down and lets Auston slide off his shorts, sitting up so Auston can pull his shirt off. He’s hard, and he looks so happy and content, and Auston thinks that he might never want anything so badly as he wants to make this boy happy right now.

So, things aren’t as easy as they could be, but they’re pretty wonderful anyway, and Auston doesn’t want to fuck it up any time soon.

* * *

They’re at one of their usual bars, and Mitch is being handsy, which isn’t out of the ordinary. The guys know Mitch loves to cuddle, and they know that he’s close with Auston, so Auston doesn’t really worry if they’re being too obvious.

Right now, all they can see is that Mitch’s arm is draped over Auston’s shoulder as he chirps him for the millionth time about how bad he is at CoD. It’s not like they can see the deliberate way Mitch is running his foot up and down Auston’s leg underneath the table, or the hickey that he left on Auston a few nights ago.

“I’m gonna get another beer,” Mitch says, and then he turns to Auston. “You want one?”

“Sure,” Auston says.

“Hey,” Brownie says from across the table. “Just Matts? What about me and Willy here?”

“I only have two hands, and he has best friend privileges,” Mitch says as he climbs out of the booth. It’s the first time he’s ever described Auston as his best friend, and Auston’s kind of surprised to find how happy it makes him.

“You guys are ridiculous,” Brownie says.

“And you have a full beer in front of you,” Auston says.

“Yep,” Mitch says, then turns and walks away.

Instead of staring at Mitch, Auston forces himself to turn his focus to Willy and Brownie.

“Y’know, I wouldn’t have thought you guys would be so close,” Willy says, nodding in Mitch’s direction.

Auston furrows his brow. “What do you mean?”

“I dunno,” Willy says. “Just different vibes. Didn’t seem like you two had much in common.”

“We have plenty in common,” Auston says.

“Clearly,” Brownie says, rolling his eyes. “You guys are like, attached at the hip.”

“Mitch is best friends with everyone,” Auston says, and he hopes he’s not blushing.

“That’s true,” Willy says. “Heard him ask Marty if he could be Jax’s godfather the other day.”

“Classic,” Brownie says, and the conversation switches to a debate about whether pets have godparents– Willy thinks they do, Brownie thinks they don’t, and Auston has no clue either way.

After a few minutes, it feels like Mitch has been gone for a while. It’s not super crowded right now, and Auston doesn’t think that Mitch would be lingering at the bar, so he excuses himself to investigate.

Mitch is right by the bar, thankfully. He has two beers with him, and he’s talking to some guy who Auston vaguely recognizes. At first, he thinks it might be a fan, but as he walks closer, he sees that the guy is leaning into Mitch’s space, and Mitch isn’t quite leaning back, and the whole picture seems wrong to him.

“Hey,” Auston calls, and Mitch turns and looks at him.

“Yo, Matts,” Mitch says, and waves him over.

On his way over, Auston realizes why he knows the guy’s face: he’d seen Mitch flirt with him before, way back at the beginning of the season. Mitch had done his awful fake-laugh and probably taken the guy home, and Auston hates how jealous he feels at that thought.

“Hey,” Mitch says. “Here’s your beer.”

“Thanks.” Auston accepts the drink, then turns to the guy. “What’s up?”

“Oh, I’m just a fan,” the guy says, and Auston sees Mitch tense at that. “Bothering him for an autograph.”

Auston turns to Mitch, who gives him a tense smile. “Oh, cool, meet us back at the table soon?”

“Yeah, I was actually gonna head back now. Nice talking to you,” he says to the guy.

“You too,” the guy says, waving at them.  

They walk back to the table, and Mitch seems shaken.

“You okay?” Auston asks.

Mitch shrugs. “Yeah, I’m… that was just weird.”

“Oh,” Auston says. “Do you want to, like, talk about it?”

“I mean– it’s just… I, uh, met him once before? And I didn’t realize he was a fan, and– it’s just weird.” He’s looking at the floor when he says it.  

“Oh,” Auston says.

“I don’t think I did anything wrong, I guess, I just– it’s weird to realize that people know who I am, you know? Like, people pay attention to what I do.”

“Yeah,” Auston says. “I get that.”

“Yep,” Mitch says.

“Was it, like... “ Auston chooses his words carefully. “Was he like, a guy?”

Mitch looks at him. “Uh, you mean– like, a guy-guy?” he says, doing a gesture on the word guy.

Auston nods.

Mitch bites his lip. “Sort of, yeah,” he says.

“Ah,” Auston says. “Yeah, that’s kind of– weird, I guess.”

“I’m freaked, sorta,” Mitch says. “I mean, not like, a huge amount, but like– I don’t know.”

“I would be too,” Auston says.

“Can we– do you want to get out of here?” Mitch asks. “I know it’s early, but– I don’t know. Kind of want to chill out and watch TV.”

Auston shrugs. “Sure,” he says. “Whatever you want.”

They call a cab and head back to Auston’s apartment, saying their goodbyes to Willy and Brownie as they chirp them for leaving early.

Auston’s dad is out, so they don’t need to worry about making too much noise in his apartment. When they get there, he heads for the couch and starts browsing through Netflix. Mitch, instead of taking his usual place in the crook of the sectional, sits right on Auston’s lap, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

It’s the kind of casual affection that Auston’s used to seeing from Mitch around other guys, but he’s less used to it like this. It’s not bad, though, and Auston doesn’t want it to end.

“I’m in the mood for cartoons,” Mitch says.

“Alright,” Auston says, choosing _Futurama_ and clicking play on whatever episode he was last watching.

It’s nice having Mitch in his lap, but it’s also distracting, because Mitch is fidgety, and he keeps moving.

“Stop,” Auston says lightly. “I’m trying to watch the show.”

“I’m not doing anything,” Mitch says, but he purposely grinds his hips down.

Auston groans a little bit, and he feels himself harden. Mitch’s eyes widen.

“You like that?” Mitch says.

Auston shrugs. “Feels good.”

“Really,” Mitch says, and he grinds down again.

“Oh my god,” Auston says.

Mitch keeps doing it, and it’s really, really working for Auston. Maybe it’s some combination of the angle that Mitch is at and the fact that he’s sort of conditioned to respond to Mitch whenever they’re alone. Either way, he’s really hard, and still pretty much fully clothed, which somehow makes it hotter.

“I’m gonna pause this,” Mitch says. Auston didn’t even realize the TV was still on.

“Mmhmm,” he says, his voice breathy. “If you keep going I’m gonna–” his words are cut off by a groan as Mitch does something with his hips that feels _unbelievable_. Auston grabs him on instinct, grinding up into him as Mitch lets out a surprised yelp.

“Oh my god,” Mitch says. “Like this?”

“Yeah, just– fuck, I’m close,” he says.

“Jesus,” Mitch says. “Please do.”

It’s not the easiest thing in the world, because there’s so much fabric, but Mitch is warm, and he murmurs encouraging things into Auston’s ear as they shamelessly grind against each other. It’s a lot of work, but Auston wants this, wants Mitch in his lap, and Mitch wants him to finish like this, and Auston wants to make Mitch happy.

Finally, Auston comes, in his pants, on his couch, both of them still fully clothed. It’s intense, and Auston can feel it leaking onto the front of his pants, but he can’t really bring himself to care about laundry right now, when he’s feeling so fucking pleased. .

“Jeez,” Auston says, when he’s all done. “You’re a fucking menace.”

“You like it,” Mitch replies.

Auston shoves him off, stands up, and pulls him in for a kiss. “I’m going to go change,” he says.

“Good call,” Mitch says.

He goes to his room and throws on sweatpants, and when he comes back, Mitch is sitting on the couch. Auston sits down next to him, close enough that their knees touch. He’s not really sure if they’re in the buddies-zone or the fuckbuddies-zone right now, but he lets his arm fall along the back of the couch anyway, figuring Mitch will scooch away if he doesn’t want this right now.

Thankfully, Mitch leans into Auston a little bit, and Auston lets his hand fall to Mitch’s opposite shoulder. Mitch relaxes, letting his head fall to Auston’s chest, and the weight feels nice.

“Don’t fall asleep,” Mitch says to Auston.

“I’m not gonna,” Auston says. “It’s only, like, 10:30.”

“You fall asleep at like, 3 p.m.,” Mitch points out.

“That’s different,” Auston says. “I usually nap right after practice.”

“Really?” Mitch asks, looking up. “I didn’t know that.”

Auston shrugs. “I mean, it’s not a set thing.”

“But you haven’t been doing that lately,” Mitch says.

“Yes I have,” Auston says. “Or, not right after practice, but– you know.” The _after sex with you_ is implied.

“I’m sorry,” Mitch says, his cheeks turning pink.

Auston can’t help the soft smile that creeps onto his face. “Don’t be,” he says. “Now be quiet, I want to watch the show.” He grabs the remote and hits play, cartoon aliens resuming their business as before.  

“Oh, now he wants to watch,” says Mitch, smiling up at him.

It shouldn’t feel new, cuddling on the couch and watching TV, because they’ve done both of these things separately, but there’s something that feels different about it anyway. But Mitch fits well like this, and Auston thinks he could get used to it.

Mitch falls asleep three episodes in, and Auston looks down, runs his hand through Mitch’s hair, and sees a small, sleepy smile grow on his face. It’s a small, fragile moment, and it’s so overwhelming that Auston feels his breath shorten as he looks at Mitch’s eyelashes. He’s so content, and Auston tries not to shake as he presses a kiss to Mitch’s head and squeezes him a little tighter. He could live in this moment for the rest of his life and not need anything else, would be content to have Mitch sleep on him, to watch the way his breathing changes as the light from the TV flashes different colors on his face forever.

It’s paralyzing, how much he wants to make Mitch happy, but it’s nothing really new.

Mitch is asleep on the couch with a blanket spread over him by the time Auston goes to bed, and Auston wishes, more than anything, that he could wake him up and ask him to come into his bedroom.

* * *

Mitch is fucking incredible at practice the next day, and it’s probably the hottest thing Auston has ever seen.

Talent is sort of a thing for him. It’s not like he jerks off to highlight reels or anything, but there’s something about the way Mitch looks when he’s flying across the ice, like he is today, that makes Auston want to drop to his knees and suck his dick right out on the ice.

“Jeez, Marns,” Hyman says in the locker room. “What’s with you today?”

“Just a good day, I guess,” Mitch says, and Auston can see his satisfied smile from across the room.

“Been eating his Wheaties,” Marty says.

“You’re literally so old,” Mitch says.

“Seriously, dude, you were on fire,” Willy says.

“I dunno,” says Mitch. “I got a good night’s sleep.”

“Boring,” Zach says, and Willy nods in agreement.

The conversation dies off as everyone focuses on getting ready, but Auston focuses on Mitch, whose face is still flushed.

He walks over and nudges Mitch on the shoulder. “Hey,” he says.

“Hi,” says Mitch, and fuck, he looks so, so good.

“I was gonna go check on that equipment thing,” Auston says, blatantly lying. “Did you wanna come with me?”

“Sure,” Mitch says, and he looks confused.

They walk out of the locker room, and into the hall.

“So, when you said equipment thing…” Mitch starts.

“I was…” Auston’s voice trails off, and he spots a supply closet. He casts a quick glance around before grabbing Mitch’s wrist and opening the door.  “Here,” he says, and Mitch ducks in. Auston follows, slamming the door behind him.

“What did you want to–” Mitch says, but Auston cuts him off with a kiss.

“Sorry,” Auston says, “you were just–” he kisses Mitch again.

“I was just…?” Mitch says with a smirk.

“Couldn’t wait,” Auston says, backing Mitch against a wall. “Had to–”

“God, yeah, Matts,” Mitch says, and Auston kisses him on the mouth one more time, then gets to work on his neck.

“Can you be quiet in here?” Auston asks.

Mitch nods. “Yeah, just–”

“I’m gonna suck you off,” Auston says.

Mitch kind of shivers, and nods enthusiastically, and Auston drops to his knees.

Frantic and desperate isn’t their usual thing, but Auston doesn’t really care, because he _needs_ to get Mitch off. Auston pulls the waistband of Mitch’s shorts down just enough to get his cock in his hand, then wastes no time getting it in his mouth, no pretense of taking his time. He doesn’t bother holding Mitch’s hips down, just lets him fuck his face as he squeezes his cock a little tighter with his hand, working it frantically as Mitch thrusts into him.

“Fuck,” Mitch pants after a few minutes. “Fuck, Matts, keep going like that.”

Auston does, and Mitch’s hips stutter into the back of his throat as he comes.

“Fuck,” Mitch says, and Auston’s about to say something back when he hears the doorknob move.

Mitch hears it too, because he quickly yanks up his shorts and turns to start looking at something on a shelf, while Auston gets on his hands and knees and pretends to be searching for something on the ground.

“Excuse m– oh, hey,” Brownie says. “I was looking for a janitor.”

“Nah, just us,” Auston says, hoping his voice doesn’t sound too much like he’d just had a dick down his throat.

“What’re you guys looking for?” he asks.

“Free toilet paper,” Mitch says, grabbing a roll off the shelf.

Brownie rolls his eyes. “Seriously?”

“Hey, every penny counts, right?” Mitch says.

“Whatever,” says Brownie, leaving the closet and letting the door close behind him.

There’s a second of silence as Auston gets up off the floor and turns to Mitch. “Free toilet paper,” he says wryly.

“Hey, it was there, alright?” Mitch says. “Brownie bought it.”

“Guess he’s not that smart, then,” says Auston, and Mitch gives him a playful shove.

“Fuck off,” Mitch says. “You don’t think he suspected anything, do you?”

“Doubt it,” Auston says. “Even with the lame cover-up. You know how straight guys can get.”

Mitch kind of stares at him before nodding. “Yeah,” he says. “We should get out of here.”

“Sure,” Auston says. “Just–” he presses a quick kiss to Mitch’s lips. “You were really fucking good today.”

“I’ll try not to let it go to my head,” Mitch laughs as he walks out the door.

* * *

Mitch comes out to him after sex a few days later.

“So, I wanted to tell you something,” Mitch says.

It’s not quite the same as “we need to talk,” but it’s still kind of nerve wracking. “Alright,” Auston says.

“And it might seem dumb, but– can you not laugh at me?” Mitch says it lightly, but Auston can tell he’s being serious.

“Of course,” Auston says.

“I’m serious,” says Mitch. “It’s really dumb, you’ll want to laugh at me.”

“I’ll hold back, alright?” Auston says.

“Alright,” Mitch says. “I’m gay.”

“Oh,” Auston says. “Okay, this makes sense now.”

“Like, I know you probably figured, but, I, uh, haven’t– I’ve never said it out loud? And I sort of wanted to, and–”

“I get it, don’t worry,” Auston says, and he gives Mitch a small smile. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Mitch says, and he looks relieved.

“For the record, it’s not dumb,” Auston says.

“It kind of is,” Mitch says. “We’ve had, like, a ton of gay sex together.”

“Could’ve been bi,” Auston says.

“Oh yeah, I guess,” Mitch says. “I’m not, though. I don’t think.”

“When did you realize?” Auston asks.

“I mean, I was young,” says Mitch. “But I just thought I liked my friends a lot? And then hockey makes things all weird, you know.”

“Yeah,” Auston says. “Straight guys are weird.”

“Aren’t they?” says Mitch. “Like, they don’t realize they’re flirting sometimes. And they miss, like, really obvious stuff.”

“Like our teammates, you mean?” Auston says.

“Yes!” Mitch says excitedly, and Auston gets the sense that he’s wanted to talk about this for a while. “I mean, it’s good, because it’s easier for us.”

“Brownie after practice,” Auston says. “Man, that was something.”

“Dude, I have so many stories about shit Marty hasn’t realized,” Mitch says.

“Please share,” Auston says.

They spend the rest of the afternoon naked in Auston’s bed, sharing stories about straight guys being dumb, and Auston doesn’t stop smiling the whole time.

* * *

It’s team bonding night, which means drinking at Mo’s place and not at a bar.

Auston’s kind of tipsy, and he’s not trying to get much drunker than that, because he kind of wants to have sex with Mitch later. Mitch seems to be doing the same, and his face is all giggly and red.  

Marty, on the other hand, is very, very drunk.

It’s just Auston, Mitch, Marty, and Willy in this corner of the living room. Mitch’s head is in Auston’s lap, which isn’t something they usually go for in public, but Auston guesses that Mitch figures that being with the team doesn’t count as being in public. Auston’s playing with his hair idly as Marty rambles on.

“You’re both so young and so good,” Marty says. “I don’t get how you’re not, like, always getting laid. Girls throw themselves at you.”

“I don’t do fans,” Mitch says automatically.

“No, but, like, you don’t even talk to girls. You too, Matts,” he says, pointing a drunk, accusing finger at him.

“I don’t know what to say, man,” Auston says, shrugging. “I’m not really interested.”

“Okay, but, like, who’s just not interested in girls?” Marty says.

Auston has to bite back a laugh. “I don’t know what to tell you, dude,” he says.

According to Mitch, this is a conversation they have a lot, but this is the first time Auston’s been here for it, and it’s kind of hilarious.

“Is it like, celibacy for the hockey gods?” Willy asks.

“Sure,” Auston says. “Let’s go with that.”

Willy cocks his head thoughtfully.

“Mitchy, you don’t have to do that,” Marty says. “I’m like, seriously worried, man. You shouldn’t be lonely.”

“Alright, Marty, let’s go for a walk,” Mitch says, getting up off Auston’s lap. Auston misses the weight of it, but he can’t really ask Mitch to come cuddle with him again. Even if it’s not a giveaway, it would probably be weird.

“See ya,” Auston says, lifting a hand, and Mitch puts his arm around Marty as they walk away.

“So,” Willy says. “Not interested in girls.”

Auston freezes, a little bit. He hadn’t exactly been subtle, but it’s sort of different, being confronted about it directly.

He takes a deep breath. “Yeah, I can’t speak for Mitch, but, uh, not really my thing.”

Willy cocks an eyebrow. “And it’s a hockey thing?”

Auston shakes his head. “It’s more of a gay thing, to be honest.”

Auston hasn’t come out to a straight person before, so he doesn’t really know what to expect, but Willy just nods and says, “Makes sense.”

“Yeah, just– don’t spread it, alright?” Auston says.

“No problem, dude,” Willy says. “Who else knows?”

“On the team? Just Mitch,” Auston says.

“Cool,” Willy says.

Auston’s phone buzzes before he gets a chance to say anything back, and it’s a text from Mitch.

_Mitch: just came out 2 marty?_

_Auston: just came out 2 willy_

_Mitch: #twinsies_

Auston’s smiling at his phone, and maybe it’s a little too big, because Willy’s giving him another look.

“So, Mitch,” Willy says.

Auston feels his face burn, and doesn’t say anything.  

* * *

The first thing Werenski says to Auston when he meets him outside the locker room after they play Columbus is, “You’re sleeping with Marner.”

“Hello to you too,” Auston replies.

“Yeah, hey, what’s up, good game. You’re sleeping with Marner, though,” Zach says.

“Maybe,” Auston says.

Mitch chooses that exact moment to walk out, and he looks at Auston, and then at Zach. “Hey,” he says.

“Hi, buddy,” Zach says, and he’s clearly sizing Mitch up. “Played well tonight.”

“You too,” Mitch says, and then he turns to Auston. “You coming out with the team?”

Auston shakes his head. “We’re gonna catch up.”

“Alright. You’ll be around later?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Auston says. “I’ll text you.”

“Sweet, I’ll let Hyman know. Nice to see you, Werenski,” Mitch says, walking away.

Zach crinkles his nose. “Did you just make plans to have sex while I was standing right here?”

“Kind of your fault,” Auston says.

“Whatever, you’re buying tonight,” Zach says.

When they get to the bar, Zach wastes no time getting them a table while he makes Auston go up to the bar and order drinks.

“You’re welcome,” Auston says.

“Yeah, thanks,” Zach says. “So, please tell me all about how you’re sleeping with your teammate.”

“How did you even know?” Auston says.

“You guys kept smiling at each other, and it was super weird,” Zach says. “You don’t smile at anyone unless they’re sleeping with you.”

“Not true,” Auston says.

“No, you’re right, it’s when you’re sleeping with someone and really into it,” Zach corrects. “My bad.”

“I smile other times,” Auston mutters.

“I’ve never seen it. Also, it’s just sort of obvious. If anyone’s like, looking.”

Auston shrugs. No one on the team knows, even if Willy gets weirdly suspicious of Auston sometimes, but Auston doesn’t think Willy knows about Mitch.

“So is it like, a thing?” Zach says.

“I mean, we’re hooking up,” Auston says. “Have been for a while.”

“Alright, but are you like, dating?” Zach asks.

“Great question,” Auston says.  

“You should talk about it,” Zach says.

“Good idea, never thought of that,” Auston says, rolling his eyes. “You get a man and now you’re suddenly a relationship expert?”

“Well, why don’t you?” Zach asks.

“I mean–” Auston starts, every reason he’s built up in his head on the tip of his tongue. There are boundaries up, things they don’t talk about, because it’s casual, except that’s not quite true anymore. “I’m working on it,” he says.

“As long as you’re trying,” Zach says, and he takes a sip of his beer. “Just– be upfront about what you want.”

“Thanks, no one’s ever told me that,” Auston says.

“I’m here to help,” Zach says, taking a sip of his beer.

* * *

Mitch comes to his room later that night.

Auston hadn’t stayed out that late, both for curfew reasons and Mitch reasons, so he doesn’t feel too bad that Mitch waited up for him. When Auston opens the door, Mitch seems antsy, which is not what Auston was expecting.

“Hey,” Auston says. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, just– everything’s fine. I just, uh, wanted to talk to you about something, and it’s cool if you don’t want to, but if you don’t then I should probably, like, head out for the night?”

“Oh,” Auston says.

“It’s nothing bad. I mean, I don’t think it is, but, um, yeah, if you want me to go–”

“No, talking’s not bad,” Auston says. “Let’s talk. What’s up?”

“Oh,” Mitch blinks. “I thought you’d tell me to leave.”

“Sorry,” Auston says.

“No! No, don’t be,” says Mitch. “It’s just– uh, we’ve been doing this for a while.”

“Yeah,” Auston says, sitting down on the bed.

“And like, there’s stuff I don’t know about you that I should.”

Auston nods.

“Like– are you doing this with anyone else?” Mitch asks, sitting down next to Auston. “Like it’s fine if you are, but I don’t know if you are? And I’m not, but I don’t want to expect you to not be, and we should–”

“I’m not,” Auston says. “I’m not, uh, sleeping with anyone else.”

“Okay, um, same,” says Mitch.

“Cool,” Auston says, smiling a little.

“Cool, yeah,” Mitch says. “And, uh, we should– hypothetically, if a teammate were to catch us, and ask what we were doing. Like, what would we say?”

“I mean,” Auston says, and the familiar nervous feeling he gets in his stomach when Mitch is around is back. “If they were to catch us, they’d sort of get the picture.”

“No, but like– we’re having sex with each other, a lot, and we’re not having sex with other people, and we’re also close friends, and like, there’s– right? There’s something here?” Mitch looks, like, openly distressed.

Auston, for his part, is kind of dizzy, because holy shit, Mitch is here, and saying this, and Auston’s not alone in this and not making it up.

“Yeah,” Auston says. “There is.”

Mitch looks relieved and elated all at once. “So we should, uh, figure that out.”

“Yeah,” Auston says. “Uh, what are we going to– what do you want?”

“I don’t know,” Mitch says, and Auston deflates a little bit. “Like, I like the idea of being exclusive, but I don’t know how to, like, date a guy? And I don’t even know if we could.”

“We could,” Auston says. “It’s been done. I know guys who, like, do that.”

“What?”

“A couple guys from USNTDP. They’re like, boyfriends.”

Mitch looks at Auston like he’s suddenly sprouted an extra head. “Boyfriends.”

“If you– I’d be down, for that, if you want,” Auston says. “You don’t have to.”

“Yeah, can I have some time? It’s not– I just don’t know, and there’s a lot to think about, y’know?”

“Of course, yeah,” Auston says. “Sorry I–”

“Oh my fucking god, don’t apologize,” Mitch says.

“Alright,” Auston says.

“But, I definitely want more cuddling, if you’re cool with that,” Mitch says.

Auston snorts. “You? Cuddling? Who knew.”

“Shut up,” Mitch says, smiling, and Auston throws an arm over his shoulder and pulls him close.

“You know,” Auston says. “I’ve sort of been into you for a while.”

“A while?” Mitch asks, looking up.

“There was– I saw you, uh, pick up guys a couple times, and–”

“Wait,” Mitch says, “you knew?”

“I didn’t know,” Auston says. “I mean, I sort of– I knew you were sleeping with guys? I didn’t know why, like, if you were just curious, or whatever.”

Mitch groans. “Oh my god, you witnessed my entire slutty phase.”

“Trust me, I’ve seen worse,” Auston says. “Um, anyway, I was– jealous.”

“Yeah?” Mitch says, smiling.

“Yeah,” Auston says. “I mean, it wasn’t– you’re allowed to do what you want, but, uh, just so you know, I’m like, pretty sure about how I feel. About you.”

Mitch is still smiling as he nods. “That’s good to know,” he says. “I also totally thought you and Werenski were hooking up.”

Auston laughs, but stops when something occurs to him. “Is that why you wanted to talk about stuff?”

“I mean, it was a factor,” Mitch says. “Not, like, the only reason.”

“We just went out for drinks. He likes to give me life advice,” Auston says. “He’s an asshole.”

“What kind of advice?” Mitch asks.

Auston doesn’t blush, but it’s a near thing. “I mean, he guessed I liked someone, and told me to do something about it.”

“Oh,” Mitch says. “You mean– I beat you to the punch?”

“Yep,” Auston says.

“You like me,” Mitch says, but it sounds like it’s mostly to himself, so Auston doesn’t say anything, just nods.

They don’t have sex that night, but they do share a bed. It’s kind of different and really, really nice.

* * *

They do have sex the next morning.

They actually do it twice, the first time right as they wake up, and the second time in the shower, and it’s good.

It’s really, really good.

Nothing actually changes, except for the knot of confusion that’s lived in Auston’s stomach for the past few months is untangling, and he just feels lighter, happier, more carefree.

He might kiss Mitch more than usual, enough that they have trouble getting out of the room, but he blames that on his good mood. Thankfully, Mitch doesn’t seem to mind at all.

* * *

Mitch was serious when he said he wanted more cuddling.

Auston’s sort of honeymooning out right now, which means he gives in whenever Mitch asks for it, even if it’s not convenient. It’s a constant; whenever they’re together, Mitch will try and find a way to touch Auston, and it’s just so natural for both of them that they’ve given up trying to hide it at this point. Auston’s dad had stopped doing double-takes every time he saw them curled up together on the couch after a week; Mitch’s mom hadn’t even blinked an eye once.

They try to tone it down in front of the team, sometimes, except they’re kind of terrible at it if they’re too happy, or sad, or in the mood to cuddle.

Right now, they’re at Gards’ place for some team bonding, and Mitch is definitely in the mood to cuddle, if the way he’s climbing all over Auston’s lap is any indication.

Auston’s not any better, honestly; his arm is around Mitch’s waist, and Mitch’s is over Auston’s shoulders, and they’re kind of a tangled mess in a way that they probably shouldn’t be for two people who aren’t actually out to their teammates yet.

Thankfully, most of the guys seem willing to accept that this is just the way they are. Mitch is also, like, hilariously drunk, and Auston’s pretty wasted himself. Mitch keeps squirming in Auston’s lap, which feels really good, but is really inconvenient.

“Hey,” Auston whispers in Mitch’s ear, “stop moving.”

“What, can’t control yourself?” Mitch whispers back, and he’s joking, but then he shifts and accidentally grinds against Auston, and Auston has to bite back a gasp.

“Maybe,” Auston says, and he can feel himself getting hard.

Mitch raises an eyebrow. “Wow, you have, like, no stamina.”

“We’re surrounded by our teammates. Our _colleagues_ ,” Auston says. “Stop being such a fucking tease.”

“I don’t know,” Mitch says. “I think you like it when I’m this much of a tease.” He grinds again, on purpose this time, and Auston shivers.

“We’re not having this conversation right here,” Auston says.

“You’re no fun,” Mitch pouts. “No one’s looking.”

“They’re not right here, doesn’t mean they’re not– hey, Brownie,” Auston says, noticing Brownie walking in their direction.

“Hey guys,” Brownie says, sitting down on the floor in front of them. “What’s up with you two?”

“Oh, you know,” Mitch says, and he moves again, and Auston’s dick reacts.

Hyman walks over to them. “Is this the rookie corner, officially?”

“Can be,” Brownie says, scooching over to make room for him to sit.

“What, I don’t get to sit in your lap?” Hyman says, faux-pouting.

“Dude, I don’t think we’re even close to their level,” Brownie says.

“You’re right,” Mitch says. “Auston and I are, like, as close as two bros can be.”

Auston snorts at that, but then Mitch does something with his hips that makes Auston bite his lip.

“Literally,” Hyman says. “Doesn’t your other cuddle buddy get jealous?”

“Nah, Marty’s fine with it,” Mitch says. “He has a dog and a girlfriend if he needs cuddles. I’m all Auston has.” He presses a kiss to Auston’s hair, and Auston kind of leans into it, and fuck, he wants to kiss Mitch for real right now, and he’s also, like, probably not gonna come in his pants, but he doesn’t want to risk it right now.

“I’m gonna get another drink,” Auston says to Mitch, and squeezes his hip.

“Me too, I’ll come with,” Mitch says, and he seems to get the message.

Wordlessly, they navigate the apartment until they find the bedroom, grabbing each other’s hands the second they’re out of sight.

“You’re not subtle,” Auston tells Mitch as he pushes open the door to the bedroom.

“Neither are you,” Mitch counters, and then presses Auston up against the wall, cupping the front of his pants.

Auston groans a bit, smiling, because this feels really fucking good. “You were practically giving me a fucking lap dance.”

“You liked it, a lot,” Mitch counters.

“Yeah,” Auston says, and then he pulls Mitch in for a kiss.

Auston has no intention of, like, actually defiling Gards’ room. That would be rude, and anyway, he and Mitch are both way too drunk to actually get into it. Still, Mitch is hot, and his, and Auston kinda digs– fuck it, Auston fucking _loves_ the fact that they couldn’t keep their hands off each for one evening, that they had to sneak away to get some time alone because they’re just that caught up in each other.

If he’s being honest, Auston’s been this caught up in Mitch for months, now; he’s glad Mitch is finally there with him and just as obsessed with this as he is.

So they stay there, making out, and it’s pitch black, and eventually the door must open, or something, because Auston hears a voice go “um,” and he pulls back from Mitch a split second before Mitch jumps off of him and the lights turn on.

It’s Mo, who sort of darts his eyes back and forth between Auston and Mitch and says, “Hey, guys.”

“Hey,” Auston says, hoping his voice sounds normal. A glance at Mitch shows Auston that Mitch’s shirt is rumpled, his hair is mussed, and his mouth is red; if Mo wasn’t literally right there, Auston would probably want to be kissing him again.

“What are you guys doing here?” Mo asks, his voice cautious.

“Just, you know, hanging out,” Mitch says.

“Talking, and stuff,” Auston adds.

“Talking,” Mo repeats.

“And stuff,” says Mitch.

“Right,” Mo says, “stuff. Is this– is this the first time you’ve done this… stuff, together?”

“Uh, no,” Auston says. “We’ve been doing this stuff for like, a while.”

“We weren’t going to do any stuff in Gards’ bed,” Mitch adds. “That’d be gross.”

“Yeah, it would be,” Mo says, but he sounds distracted. “Do other people know about this stuff?”

“Not really, but–” Mitch starts.

“I don’t think we’re ready to, uh, tell people, about the stuff?” Auston says. “Not yet, anyway.”

“We’re probably gonna tell people, like, eventually,” Mitch says. “It’s– it’s, like, _good_ stuff, you know? Like, legit stuff, not just… you know, stuff-stuff.” Auston wants to ask Mitch what that means, but he figures it can wait until Mo is gone.

“This is getting confusing,” Mo says, “You two are hooking up, yeah?”

Auston and Mitch look at each other, and then nod.

“Cool, that’s– cool,” Mo says. “Uh, don’t do that right here, but otherwise, um, congratulations?”

It’s awkward and surreal at the same time, and they both nod again.

“Cool. I’m gonna, uh, go back to the party. People are asking about you two. Not like, if you’re– just, you’ve been gone a while,” he says. “Be out of here in the next 3 minutes, alright?”

“Okay,” Auston says, and Mo gives them an awkward nod as he walks out, closing the door behind him.

Mitch goes to sit on the bed and groans, falling back onto it. “That was so weird,” he says.

“It was fine,” Auston says, going to sit on the edge of the bed next to him.

“No, Mo is totally freaking out,” Mitch says. “He’s probably, like, texting Gards and Naz about a Mitchy-mergency right now. That’s the word they use, by the way. I’ve seen them type it.”

“Why wouldn’t they call it a Mitchuation?” Auston asks, even though he knows they should probably talk about the fact that they’d both sort of come out to their basically-captain tonight.

“Wow, I can’t believe you just said that,” Mitch says. “And to think, I was gonna ask you to dinner.”

“Dinner? Auston asks.

“I mean, yeah,” Mitch says. “I want to go on a date with you. A legit one.”

“Oh,” Auston says, a little breathless and a lot happy. “Uh, yeah, we should– we should do that.”

“Awesome,” he says, and the smile he offers Auston is soft and content.

Auston leans in to press one last kiss on his lips before saying, “We should get back to the team.”

“Yeah,” Mitch says.

Auston gets up and offers Mitch a hand, which he takes, and they don’t stop touching each other for the rest of the night.

* * *

It’s kind of nice to both be freaking out about their date later in the same locker room.

Auston hasn’t felt this on edge in a while, and he can see that Mitch is jittery from across the room. It’s dumb; it’s _Mitch._ Auston’s literally had his dick in his mouth more times than he can count, but somehow, the prospect of a nice dinner is what has him all messed up.

They shower at different times, and Auston has to consciously avoid staring at the way Mitch looks with wet hair and a towel low on his hips.

“Hey,” Marty says, startling Auston, “is something up with you and Mitchy?”

“What? No,” Auston says.

“Are you sure? You two aren’t talking as much as usual.”

“It happens,” Auston says, and he hears how weak the excuse sounds as he’s saying it.

Marty raises an eyebrow. “So you two aren’t fighting?”

“We’re not,” Auston says, because at least that’s true. “He’d have told you.”

“He might’ve,” Marty says. “Just making sure. You don’t have any problems with him, right?”

“None whatsoever,” Auston says earnestly, and sees Mitch giving them a concerned look from across the locker room.

Marty nods and walks away, and Auston goes back to packing up his stuff.

A few minutes later, Mitch– now dressed, thankfully, but still absurdly good-looking– walks up to Auston. “Hey,” he says. “What was that with Marty before?”

“You know,” Auston says. “I think he, uh, thinks we’re fighting.”

“Are we?” Mitch asks, frowning.

“No!” Auston says. “Just– you know, tonight, and the whole–” he makes a gesture with his hand. “It’s– I’m nervous, is all.”

“Like, good-nervous? Or, uh, cold-feet-nervous?” Mitch asks hesitantly.

“The first one. Good-nervous.” Auston gives Mitch what he hopes is an encouraging smile.

“Cool,” Mitch says, looking relieved. “I am too.”

“We should be, but–”

“Hey, guys,” Willy says, walking up to his locker. “What’s up?”

“You know, having a conversation,” Auston says, mildly annoyed.

“Ah, gotcha,” Willy says. “Big plans?”

“Sort of,” Mitch says, giving Auston a smile. Auston returns it, because Mitch’s smile is kind of contagious, and also beautiful.

“Uh,” Willy says, and Auston tears his eyes away from Mitch to see Willy giving them a look. “What’s going on? Are you two, like, planning to commit a crime, or…”

“Nope, nothing illegal,” Auston says, turning away to conceal his smile.

“Then what’re…” Willy’s eyes widen. “Wait, are you guys gonna, like–” he lowers his voice “–go out?”   

“I mean, we’re going to hang out, which will probably involve going out at some point,” Auston says, still facing away from Willy. He steals a glance at Mitch, who is bright red and definitely smiling.

“I– you know what I– you know what, never mind,” Willy says, and as he starts to turn away, Mitch shoots Auston a quick look, like he’s asking Auston’s permission. Auston nods.

“No, we’re– you’re right, yeah,” Mitch says. “We’re going to– um.”

Willy’s eyebrows rise in delight. “Guys,” he says, “good luck, that’s–” He crosses his arms. “I’ll keep it on the down-low for right now, but that’s kind of awesome.”

Auston just… he can’t stop smiling. He honestly is not physically capable of being in the same room as Mitch and not smiling, because Mitch is his friend, and they’re going to go on a date tonight, and he makes him so _happy_.

“I’d like to think so,” Mitch says.

“Yeah,” Auston says absently, too focused on the way Mitch’s eyes are crinkling to pay attention to anything else.

“Have fun, you two,” Willy says turning away.

Auston’s ready to go; he has his bag all packed up, he’s wearing his street clothes, and they have a few hours before they’re going to dinner.

“I, uh, I’m gonna head out,” Mitch says. “I wanted to ask you if it was okay if I, um, talked to Marty? It’s just– I don’t know, I want to keep him in the loop, I guess.”

“Sure,” Auston says. “Yeah, of course. Tell him whatever. I’ll see you later, right?”

“Yeah,” Mitch says. “Later.”

“Later,” Auston echoes, and he can feel Willy’s judgemental glare, but whatever, he’s not in any state of mind to make sense.

Mitch does an awkward wave and kind of trips over himself as he walks over to where Marty’s standing. Auston can see, now, that Marty’s watching them– probably has been for a few minutes– and based on the look on his face, probably knows what’s up.

“Dude,” Willy says. “Are you two– do you want to talk about this?”

“What? Did it look like something was wrong?” Auston asks, suddenly nervous that Mitch had been hesitant and Auston hadn’t noticed.

“You’re freaking out,” Willy says.

“Uh,” Auston says, “I guess?”

“So, we’re friends, and I’m not gonna make you go through it alone,” Willy says. “Come on, you can freak out about your date to me.”

It does sound better than going home and second guessing the outfit he’d picked out last night, so he says, “Alright, yeah.”

“Cool,” Willy says, and he looks satisfied. “I’m an expert. Now, which sounds better: taking a shot, or petting a cat?”

* * *

Auston and Willy end up at Naz’s place.

“Rookies!” Naz says gleefully when he opens the front door, Jazzy in his arms. “What’s going on?”

“Matts has a date tonight,” Willy says, and Naz beckons them inside before wordlessly handing the cat over to Auston.

“Thanks,” Auston says, and he looks down. Jazzy looks back up at him. “Sorry I’ve never met your cat before.”

“She forgives you,” Naz says.

They move to the living room, where Auston sits down on the couch, Willy next to him. “Jazzy and I know each other well,” Willy explains.

“Why?” Auston asks.

Willy shrugs. “I’m a cat person.”

“Makes sense,” Auston says, then pets her head. Her fur is soft, and she closes her eyes. It’s pretty cute, Auston has to admit. “She seems chill.”

“She’s great,” Naz says, walking in with two glasses of water. “So, are you just here to pet my cat, or are we gonna talk about your date?”

“I don’t know how much I can talk about it,” Auston says. “Like, I– it’s sort of complicated.”

“Alright, alright,” Naz says. “Are you nervous because it’s, uh, complicated?”

“Oh, no, I just really like– him,” Auston says, hesitating before the last word. He looks up at Naz, nervous.

“Did you say him?” Naz asks. “Like, it’s fine if you did, just wanted to make sure.”

“I did, yeah,” Auston says.

“Alright. That’s cool, thanks for telling me,” Naz says. “Uh, shit, Mo and Riems gave us this whole thing we’re supposed to say–”

Auston snorts. “Mo didn’t say anything special, I’m sure you’re fine.”

“Mo knows?” Willy asks, surprised.

“Yeah, he– uh, he sort of… walked in on us?” Auston says.

“Wait, so is this about Mitchy?” Naz asks.

“Mo told you?” Auston asks, surprised.

“Wait, you and Mitchy are already hooking up?” Willy asks. “I thought you were going on, like, a first date.”

“We are,” Auston says.

“Mo didn’t, like, tell me it was you two, but he did tell me he walked in on two rookies… you know, gettin’ it on–”

“We were making out, not– you know,” Auston says, blushing.

“Whatever. He told me some rookies were hooking up with each other, then you and Mitchy were holding hands, and I sort of figured. I think he thought it was just guy stuff.”

“Is that a thing straight guys do?” Auston asks. “Actually, no, that doesn’t matter.”

“How long have you two been a thing?” Willy asks.

“Uh, what do you count as a thing?” Auston responds.

“Doing it,” Willy says.

“In that case, it’s been, uh, since, like, fall–”

“Since _fall?_ ” Willy says incredulously. “Dude, haven’t you been into him for, like, months?”

“You have?” Naz asks.

“I– Willy, what are you basing this on?”

“Have you ever seen your face when he talks? Or when you get a text from him?” Willy asks.

“What, you’re a face expert now?” Auston grumbles.

“I just thought you were pining, not, like, hooking up,” Willy says.

“It can be both, you know,” Auston says. The cat in his lap gives him a judgemental look. “Not you too,” he says, scratching between her ears again.

“Wait, so, let me get this straight,” Naz says. “You liked him for months, and you knew he liked dudes, and you were sleeping with him, but you’re just going on a first date _now_?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Auston says.

“Be glad you’re good at hockey, kid,” Naz says. Most of the mentor-like talk from the vets comes from Mo or Gards or occasionally Marty, but Naz has his moments, and Auston appreciates it, even if he is kind of insulted.

“I’m not that much of a disaster,” he halfheartedly protests.

“You are,” Willy says, but he’s smiling. “Just pet Jazzy and let us tell you how obsessed with you Marner is, and then you’ll be nice and relaxed for your date tonight.”

“Oh, yeah,” Naz says. “Dude, it’s gonna go great.”

“I don’t know, just… I don’t know,” Auston says.

“You can tell us, this is a no chirp zone, promise,” Naz says. “We’re your teammates.”

Auston sighs. “I just… I wanted to date him before he wanted to date me, I think.”

“So?” Willy says. “He wants to date you now.”

“I don’t know, he’s– things were fine before we decided to talk shit over, you know?” Auston says. “And he didn’t seem to know exactly what he wanted, and I did, and I’m just worried he’s only doing this because I want it.”

“Alright, but all you know is what he’s telling you,” Naz says. “If he says he wants to go to dinner with you, then you should go to dinner with him.”

“Also, you guys were being gross in the locker room earlier, he’s definitely into you,” Willy says.

“What were they doing?” Naz asks Willy.

“They wouldn’t stop smiling. Like, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mitchy smile that much. And Mitchy smiles a _lot.”_

Auston kind of wants to voice his defense of Mitch’s smile, but he figures that’ll probably earn him chirps, so he bites his tongue.

“Also, for the record, Marty thinks he’s crushing on someone,” Naz says. “So that’s, like, probably you.”

“Marty just wants Mitch to date someone,” Auston says.

“Well, whatever, he knows him super well,” Naz says. “You’re gonna be fine. Mitchy _likes_ you. Like, at the very least, you two are bros, and best-case scenario, you’re in love, or whatever.”

Auston blushes at the word _love._ “Alright,” he says. “Thank you guys.” Jazzy rubs her head against his arm, so he looks down and says, “and thank you too.”

She meows at him.

“And if it sucks, you can come back here, and Jazzy will still be here,” Naz says. “You get dibs over Mitchy.”

“Sweet,” Auston says.

* * *

When Auston opens the front door of his apartment, Mitch is holding flowers.

“Hi,” Mitch says, and all Auston can do is stare.

Mitch brought him _flowers._ Mitch is standing in his doorway, wearing a shirt that Auston’s pretty sure is new, and there’s gel in his hair, and he looks nervous, and he’s holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Hey,” Auston manages to say, somehow.

“I, uh– I brought you these,” Mitch says, shoving them in Auston’s direction. Auston takes the bouquet and examines the assortment of bright, colorful flowers, and, without thinking, leans forward to smell them.

“They’re nice,” Auston says, and he thinks he’s smiling, because Mitch is, and that’s just kind of what Auston’s face does.

“Thanks,” Mitch says.

“No, uh, thank you,” Auston says. “Uh, I’ll be– I guess I should, like, put these in a vase, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what you’re supposed to do,” Mitch says. “You look, uh, nice.”

“Thanks,” Auston says, blushing. “You do too.”

“Are you sure? Because the shirt– I just got it, and I was worried it was too– I don’t know. Flashy?”

“It’s not,” Auston says. “It’s perfect.”

Mitch turns a delightful shade of red.

He ends up putting the flowers in a really tall glass, because Auston’s not sure he has a vase, and Mitch apologizes for not considering the possibility that Auston might not own a vase about a billion times before they get in the car.

“In my defense,” Mitch says, even though he doesn’t have anything to defend, “the flowers were Marty’s idea.”

“Yeah?” Auston says.

“Yeah, he also had, like, a lot to say about my hair,” Mitch says. “He’s, um, excited for us, I guess.”

“Oh,” Auston says, blushing. “I met Naz’s cat today.”

“What?” Mitch says. “Why?”

“Willy said I looked nervous, so he took me to Naz’s.”

“Dude, I have, like, so many questions,” Mitch says. “Can you plug in the address of the restaurant first?”

“Sure thing,” Auston says.

The mention of Jazzy breaks the awkwardness between them, thankfully, and they chat normally for the rest of the car ride about hockey and TV and other things they normally talk about. Because yeah, this is _Mitch,_ but it’s also… just Mitch. Mitch is his friend and teammate, and Auston likes him and feels good around him. Things are easy and good with Mitch, and Auston doesn’t realize how much he’d forgotten that in the process of psyching himself up for this date until he remembers, and it’s a huge relief.

They don’t broach the topic of teammates again until they’re seated at the table. “So, tell me about this cat,” Mitch says.

“She’s pretty chill,” Auston says. “Apparently Willy’s there, like, all the time.”

“So you spent the afternoon with Willy and Naz?” Mitch asks, and Auston nods.

“Yeah, uh, Naz sort of… he knew about us?”

“What?” Mitch says, his brow furrowing. “How?”

“Apparently Mo told him some stuff, and he guessed it was us,” Auston says.

“Oh my god, I can’t even keep track of who knows what anymore,” Mitch says. “This is so complicated.”

“I’m sorry,” Auston says.

“I mean, it’s–” Mitch looks thoughtful for a second. “It’s not a bad thing, I guess. They’re gonna know eventually anyway, right?”

“What do you mean?” Auston asks.

“I mean, like– if we keep doing this,” Mitch says. “Like, they’re gonna find out.”

“I thought you didn’t know if– like, do you want to keep doing this?”

“Uh, yeah?” Mitch says, like it should be obvious. “That’s why I asked you to dinner. It was like, ‘Yo, I thought it over, and we should date.’”

“But what if this date sucks?” Auston asks, smiling.

“Well, we’re friends, so if this one sucks, we should at least do a redo. But, like– do you still want to date me?” Mitch asks.

Auston nods.

“And I want to date you. We know the sex is good, and we like each other, so…” Mitch does a hand gesture.

“So just like that?” Auston asks.

“Yeah. I dunno, it’s not much different from before, right?” Mitch asks.

“I guess not,” Auston says. “Well, now I get to be romantic.”

“I dunno, I’d say I’m already the romantic one. I brought flowers,” Mitch says, like it’s a challenge.

Auston will not be out-romanced, especially not by Mitch. He grabs one of Mitch’s hands in both of his, then looks right at Mitch’s eyes and says, “You have the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.” He rubs his thumb across the back of Mitch’s hand and doesn’t look away. Mitch is speechless, Auston can tell, and Auston leaves him kind of gaping before his face breaks out in a satisfied grin.

“See? I’m romantic,” Auston says.

“Dude,” Mitch says, letting out a startled laugh. “What the fuck?”

“I told you, I’ve liked you for a while. I have, like, tons of sappy-ass shit saved up.”

“Oh my god, that’s amazing,” Mitch says, and he kicks his foot forward so it rests on Auston’s shin.

“You’re amazing,” Auston shoots back, and Mitch sticks his tongue out at him.

* * *

“So, how was our first date?” Mitch asks when they’re almost back at Auston’s.

“Pretty decent,” Auston says. “What makes you so sure it’s over?”

“Oooh, good point,” Mitch says. “Still have a good night kiss to get around to, then it will be an official first date.”

They get around to much more than a good night kiss.

The second they’re in the apartment, Mitch’s hands are on Auston, and they’re kissing like Auston’s wanted to do all fucking day. It’s hard and insistent, because Auston wants Mitch, and he’s always wanted Mitch, and he can’t picture _not_ wanting Mitch.

“I wanna ride you,” Mitch says.

“Oh my god,” Auston groans, because that sounds like the best idea in the world.

“Is that okay? It’s been a while, and– I want to, but– we’ll have to go slow,” Mitch says.

“We have plenty of time,” Auston says. “Yeah, let’s– yeah.”

“Good,” Mitch says, and he smiles before leaning in to kiss him again.

They get themselves to the bedroom and undressed so fast, and they’ve been here so many times before, but tonight everything feels so new, and yeah, Auston’s probably kissed every inch of Mitch’s body at this point, but when he lays a line of kisses down Mitch’s back, it feels like he’s touching something he hasn’t touched before.

“Shit,” Mitch says, shivering when Auston goes below his tailbone.

“Is this okay?” Auston asks. “I know we haven’t–” he’s fingered Mitch before, but right now, he doesn’t want to take his mouth off of Mitch. It might be weird, but Auston doesn’t care, as long as it makes Mitch feel good.

“ _Yes_ ,” Mitch says, an edge of desperation in his voice. “Fuck, please.”

Auston’s only done this a handful of times, and it never mattered as much then as it does right now, so he’s cautious as he gently puts his tongue on Mitch’s hole.

“Holy shit, holy–” Mitch says, but he arches his hips a little bit, so Auston doesn’t think it’s bad. He tries to keep his tongue soft, because he doesn’t want to fuck Mitch with his tongue, really, just wants to ease him open, get him soft and relaxed and pliant underneath him. To his credit, it seems to be working, and he can feel Mitch relax, so he keeps licking.

“Auston,” Mitch says, “fuck that’s–”

Auston pulls away. “Is it good?” he asks.

Mitch whimpers, presumably at the loss of Auston’s tongue. “Yeah, I just– it’s not enough,” he says, and Auston can see the side of his face, and Mitch is red, maybe because he’s blushing, or maybe because he’s already so worked up.

“Alright,” Auston says, and then he runs a finger over Mitch’s hole.

“Can you–” Mitch says, and Auston dips a finger in.

Mitch is wet enough from Auston’s mouth that one finger goes in easily enough, and Mitch lets out something that’s maybe a gasp and maybe a moan but definitely the most beautiful sound Auston’s ever heard.

“Shit, Mitch,” Auston says, and then he gulps. “I’m gonna grab the lube.”

“Fast,” Mitch says, and fuck, it sounds like he’s _begging._

Auston is fast, grabs the lube out of his drawer and gets his fingers slicked up. One finger goes back in easily enough, and soon, he adds a second one, and before he knows it, Mitch is rocking back on three of Auston’s fingers.

“More,” Mitch pants.

“I– fuck, Mitch,” Auston says. He knows his voice sounds broken, and he doesn’t care.

“Auston,” Mitch says, and there’s something about the way he says Auston’s name.

“Are you ready?” Auston asks.

“Yes, god,” Mitch says.

Auston’s painfully hard, and he’s quick to roll the condom on and put even more lube on. Mitch is already a mess, and Auston hasn’t even touched him yet.

“Still want to ride me?” Auston asks, and Mitch nods as he makes a whimpering noise. Auston lies down on the bed, and Mitch straddles him before lining Auston’s dick up with his hole.

Auston’s not proud of the noise he makes when Mitch lowers himself onto Auston. It’s just– it’s so tight, and so hot, and it’s intense, and just like everything with Mitch, it feels like something special, something huge and important and amazing. It’s almost overwhelming, and Auston doesn’t know if he’s ever felt this good before. His eyes squeeze shut on instinct, and for a second, the feeling of Mitch is everything, and it’s so much.

Then, he opens his eyes to look at Mitch, and it’s even better.

“Auston–” Mitch says, his head thrown back. It’s the most incredible thing Auston’s ever seen, because fuck, Mitch is feeling this just as much as Auston, and it’s like they’re here together, so overwhelmed by the feeling of Auston being inside Mitch, and it’s… it’s a lot, in the best possible way.

“You’re–” Auston says, but he doesn’t know what to say after that, because it’s too much for words.

“Auston,” Mitch chokes out again. “I’m– you’re– fuck, you’re everywhere,” he says, and then he grabs his dick.

It’s amazing how after months, Mitch can still do or say something that will just take Auston apart, make him fucking useless when it comes to doing or saying or thinking about anything that’s not Mitch. Auston can’t even form thoughts anymore, can only lie back and feel everything and watch as Mitch just reduces him to this whimpering mess of a person.

“I’m not gonna last,” Auston says, except it’s more of a gasp.

“Neither am I,” Mitch says, barely more coherent than Auston. “Fuck, Matts, I’m so fucking full–”

“Fuck,” Auston says, and he groans, and he doesn’t know if that’s what sends Mitch over the edge, but something does. Mitch comes with a gasp, and it’s hard and messy and it’s all over Mitch’s stomach and Auston’s, and Mitch slows down on Auston’s dick, and Auston has to use every ounce of willpower he has to not buck his hips up.

“Oh my gosh,” Mitch says, and he sounds breathless and overwhelmed in a way he usually doesn’t after sex. “Fuck, are you–”

“I’m so close,” Auston says.

“You can keep going,” Mitch says.

“Are you sure?” Auston asks, but his hips are already moving up and down as Mitch falls forward onto him.

“Yes, please,” Mitch says, and his voice is right in Auston’s ear.

It only takes Auston a few more thrusts until he comes, and with every one, Mitch lets out these gasps, and fuck, his come is still everywhere.

“Mitch,” Auston says, and Mitch digs his face into Auston’s shoulder as Auston comes.

“Auston,” Mitch says, and it’s so soft and so sweet.

Auston doesn’t want to move, doesn’t want to leave Mitch, but he should. Mitch makes a mild noise of discontent as he gets up and Auston pulls out, but afterwards, he lies down on his back on Auston’s bed.

“Are you good?” Auston says, because usually, this is when a small, satisfied smile creeps across Mitch’s face and he curls up into Auston’s chest, and that’s not happening right now.

“Yeah,” Mitch says. “That was a lot, I’m sorry, I just–”

“Everything alright?” Auston asks, slightly worried now; he reaches out and puts a hand on Mitch’s shoulder, rubbing his thumb in small circles.

The touch seems to relax Mitch. “Yeah,” he says, and it sounds kind of like a sigh of relief. “Yeah, fuck, that was just really good.”

Auston thinks he could feel smug about that, but instead he’s just happy, and kind of taken aback, and he really just wants to hold Mitch.

“You were amazing,” Auston says.

“Fuck, you– you don’t–” Mitch says, and then he just laughs. “I don’t trust myself to say anything around you, wow. You were incredible.”

Auston smiles dumbly. “We should clean up.”

“I don’t wanna move,” Mitch says, which is good, because the thought of Mitch moving had never even crossed Auston’s mind.

“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry,” Auston says. “I’ll be back in a second, alright?” He doesn’t know why he’s being so careful with Mitch, but it’s apparently the right thing, because Mitch nods contentedly.

Auston quickly runs into the bathroom, cleans himself off as fast as possible, then grabs a washcloth for Mitch. When he returns to the bedroom, Mitch is looking at his phone.

“Hey,” Auston says.

“Hey, thanks,” Mitch says, holding out a hand, but Auston waves it away and goes straight for Mitch’s stomach.

“Is this okay?” he asks, and Mitch nods.

Auston tries to be as thorough as possible cleaning Mitch up, which is pretty easy, considering he doesn’t want to take his hands off him, so he’s happy to take his time. Once Mitch’s torso is clean, Auston nudges him to turn over, and he gets to work gently cleaning up the mess of lube around Mitch’s hole.

“Thanks,” Mitch says when Auston’s done, and Auston presses a kiss to his lower back.

“My pleasure,” he says. Mitch rests his head on Auston’s chest, and Auston kisses his head as he does.

“I’m gonna feel that tomorrow,” Mitch says.

“Sorry,” Auston says sheepishly.

“Don’t be,” Mitch says. “It’s– it’s good, I’m glad.”

“You are?” Auston asks, cautious.

“Yes, god,” Mitch says. “Don’t be so worried.”

“Sorry,” Auston says.

“S’alright, just, you know, I want you to know that I really liked that. And I really like _you,”_ Mitch says.

“I really really like you,” Auston says nonsensically.

Mitch snorts. “I’m not getting into this with you. Now, c’mon, spoon me ‘til we fall asleep, we have practice tomorrow.”

“Ugh,” Auston says. “That means I’ll have to get out of this bed.”

“I know, I don’t want to either,” Mitch says, giving Auston a sympathetic smile.

Auston does spoon Mitch, though, and right before he drifts off into sleep, he presses a kiss to the place where Mitch’s neck meets his shoulder.

It might be the best sleep he’s ever had.

* * *

Auston and Mitch aren’t late to practice the next day, but they’re among the last to arrive, which earns them looks from Naz, Willy, and Marty.

“Hey guys,” Willy says. “How’d it go?”

“Fuck off,” Mitch says cheerfully, walking past Willy to his stall.

“It went well,” Auston says to Willy, and begins to change.

“Yeah?” Willy says. “So are you two like, official?”

“Well, we’re– we haven’t worked out who we’re telling, so don’t, like spread the word, but I think it’s– you know.”

“So you’re dating,” Willy says, giving him a smile. “Nice, man.”

“Thanks,” Auston says, unable to keep away the smile or the blush that creep across his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Mitch talking to Marty with a similar expression on his face, so he assumes that they’re having the same kind of conversation. He also makes eye contact with Naz, who gives him a thumbs-up and a raised eyebrow, and Auston nods and returns it.

“Nice,” mouths Naz, except it comes out as more of a whisper, because subtlety isn’t his strong suit. Across the room, Auston sees Mitch blush.

Practice itself is fine, or at least, Auston thinks so, but he doesn’t take his eyes off Mitch when he can help it. To be fair, Mitch doesn’t keep his hands off of Auston; it seems like every time Auston turns around, Mitch is draping an arm over him or going for an unnecessary high five.

“Dude,” Freddie says, which breaks Auston out of his trance as he watches Mitch, who’s currently at the other end of the ice. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Auston asks.

“You keep staring at Mitchy?” Freddie says, which– he’s not wrong, but Auston’s spent plenty of time staring at Mitch in the past, and no one’s ever thought it was weird.

“I dunno,” Auston says. “He looks good?” It’s not the subtlest he’s ever been. Whatever.

“Are you joking?” Freddie says.

Auston furrows his brow, because, rude. “No. I don’t know. Whatever.”

“Because like– if you’re, you know, into him,” Freddie says, “that’s– like, that’s fine, and it would make sense.”

“I–” Auston says. “It would?”

"I mean, it’s not– like, I’d believe you if you told me you weren’t,” Freddie says. “I’d just also believe it if you told me you were.”

“Oh,” Auston says.

“Based on what Brownie’s told me, anyway,” Freddie says.

Auston raises an eyebrow. “Brownie’s been talking about us?”

“Brownie’s been complaining about you two switching rooms,” Freddie says.

“Ah,” Auston says, feeling a bit guilty.

“I’m just saying, it’s– if you know what to look for, it’s not hard to see.”

“Sure it’s not just your weird goalie powers?”

“Could be,” Freddie deadpans, rolling his eyes.

Before Auston can respond, Mitch skates up to Auston and straight-up jumps onto his back. Auston laughs, and he would honestly give Mitch a piggyback ride, but it’s difficult on skates, so he has to let Mitch down. Freddie gives them an amused look the entire time, and Auston just gives him a small smile and a shrug in response.

“Oh my god,” Naz says, skating up behind Mitch. “can you two stop flirting?

“They can’t,” Freddie says.

Auston and Mitch just exchange smiles before Mitch says, “Don’t wanna.”

“Cute,” Naz deadpans. “Heads up, Mo’s asked me, like, three times if there’s something going on.”

“Can’t he figure it out on his own?” Mitch asks, then he glances at Freddie. “Oh, shit you didn’t–”

“I don’t know anything,” Freddie says. “Besides the fact that Matts thinks you’re fun to look at.”

“You do?” Mitch says, giving Auston a mischievous smile.

“Maybe a bit,” Auston says, smiling right back.

“Well you’re–” Mitch starts, but he’s cut off by Naz.

“I’m really fucking happy for you, but please don’t,” he says. “Save it for after practice. You’re lucky JVR doesn’t know about this yet. He’s gonna fine you out of your rookie bonuses.”

“Good to know,” Mitch says, and then they have to go back to drills again.

Mitch and Auston are the last to leave the ice, and as they make their way to the locker room, Mitch grabs Auston’s hand and whispers in his ear. “We should, like, figure shit out.”

“Whaddya mean?” Auston asks, his voice equally quiet.

“Like– are you okay with people knowing?” Mitch asks. “Like, about us.”

“I’m, uh, ready to come out, if that’s what you mean,” Auston says.

Mitch nods. “But like– like, we should be sure.”

“Sure about what?” Auston asks.

“Like, about, I don’t know, being boyfriends.”

It’s the first time Mitch has used the word boyfriend, and Auston can feel the corners of his mouth turn up as he says, “Boyfriends.”

“Yeah,” Mitch says, and he’s smiling at Auston’s smile, his eyes bright.

“I’m sure, I’m in, let’s tell people,” Auston says.

“Sweet,” Mitch says, and he doesn’t let go of Auston’s hand as they walk into the locker room. No one notices, but it feels nice not to hide it anyway.

“You guys are being obvious,” Willy says matter-of-factly when Auston walks up to his stall.

“I mean,” Auston says, “not exactly trying to hide.”

“You aren’t?” Willy asks.

Auston shrugs. “Yeah, we sort of– you know.”

“You guys hid it for like, months,” Willy says.

“We weren’t the subtlest,” Auston says. “It wasn’t that hard to hide. Now it is, and it’s, like, not something we want to do.”

“Alright,” Willy says. “How’re you gonna tell people?”

Auston shrugs. “Just not gonna hide it, I guess.”

“Bullshit, you gotta do something,” Willy says. “I mean, you don’t have to, but it’d be more– I dunno, clear.”

“That’s so weird,” Auston says. “I feel like that’d make it into a thing.”

“It doesn’t have to. Here, let’s get Mitchy in on this.”

“Alright,” Auston says.

Willy calls for Mitch, who does this half-jog thing across the locker room that Auston finds incredibly cute. “What’s up?” he says, and Auston takes a second to appreciate how good he looks in Under Armour.

Apparently he takes a second too long, because Willy sighs and says, “Alright, so, you two are gonna tell people? About this? Because this whole–” he points to Auston, who forces himself to stop looking at Mitch “–staring thing isn’t obvious enough.”

“I mean, I think people can just figure it out,” Mitch says, shifting from one foot to another.

“It’d be easier if you just, like, dropped a message in the chat or something,” Willy says.

Mitch furrows his brow. “Can you come out in a group chat?” He turns to Auston, who shrugs.

“I’m not an expert,” he says. “I guess you can?”

“Would it be, like, a long emotional thing?” Mitch says. “Because I don’t want to deal with that.”

“You can just say it. I dunno, make it into a joke,” Willy says.

Mitch is silent for a second, then falls into an uncontrollable giggle fit, which makes Auston smile, because Mitch has a nice laugh. His _boyfriend_ has a nice laugh. Mitch is his boyfriend, and Auston gets to think about things like his laugh and be happy about them.

“Willy, c’mere,” Mitch says, and Auston is pointedly not jealous as Mitch whispers something in WIlly’s ear that has Willy cracking a smile, but he’s apparently possessive when it comes to Mitch, so not-jealousy takes some effort.

“Gotta say, that works,” Willy says.

“What are you two planning?” Auston asks, looking between the two of them.

Willy and Mitch exchange a glance, and then Mitch looks Auston right in the eye and says, “Do you trust me?”

Auston is very, very weak in the face of Mitch doing, like, anything, so he nods.

“Alright, well, I have a plan for telling the team, and it’s better if you don’t know. Come to the equipment room once we’ve showered?” Mitch asks, then gives Auston’s hand a squeeze.

Across the room, Auston can see Mo staring at them, and Auston’s just– he’s not in the mood for lengthy explanations, doesn’t even really feel like coming out, but more than anything, he wants everyone to know that he’s Mitch’s boyfriend.

“You got it,” Auston says, and gives Mitch a smile.

* * *

“So you just want me to take off this helmet?” Auston asks. It’s a full cage, which is also strange, and he has no clue how this will help with the coming out process.

“Yes, and let Willy take a video,” Mitch confirms.

“This is gonna be the best coming out to ever happen in our team’s group chat,” Willy says.

“It’s the only coming out to ever happen in the group chat,” Auston says, but he puts the helmet on anyway.

“Alright, action,” Willy says, and Auston unfastens the helmet, trying not to feel dumb.

“You got it?” Auston asks.

“Yep,” Willy replies gleefully. “Just gotta caption it.”

Mitch is looking at Willy’s phone, and the two of them are laughing, and Auston knows this is going to be dumb, should probably have seen it coming when they dragged him down here to do this… whatever.

“Let me see,” Auston says. “Before you post it.”

“You’ll see it when it’s in the chat,” Willy says, typing away. “Don’t you trust Mitch?”

“I don’t trust you,” Auston says.

“Bad teammate,” Willy says. “Also, it’s sent, so you’ll see it in a second.”

“Oh my god,” Auston says, and he feels his phone buzz in his pocket.

It’s the video they shot a few seconds ago, and it’s not the greatest video, but the caption is, _coming out of his cage and he’s been doing just Mitch_

Auston stares at his phone, because–

“Did you guys actually just do this? And make me complicit in this?” he asks.

“Was it not effective?” Willy says, and he can’t contain his laughter.

“C’mon, it was so _you,_ you have to admit it was brilliant,” Mitch says, and Auston isn’t mad– more just embarrassed, but then Mitch puts his hand on Auston’s waist, and Auston can’t help but smile fondly at how earnest Mitch looks, even as he’s holding back laughter.

“I fucking hate you,” Auston says, smiling reluctantly as he pulls Mitch in for a hug.

“Nah, you lo– like me,” Mitch says, and his face turns bright red.

“I’m sorry, I what?” Auston says, and he puts his hand on Mitch’s face, and he’s gonna lean in to kiss him when he hears a cough.

“Still here,” Willy says. “Just, in case you forgot.”

“We didn’t– whatever,” Auston says. “Uh, thank you, I guess.”

“No problem,” Willy says, a glint in his eyes. “I’m gonna head out now.”

“So are we,” Mitch says.

“Sure,” Willy says, like he doubts it. “Bye. And congrats, again!”

“So long,” Auston says, and he thinks they’re going to wait until Willy’s like, officially out of the room, but as soon as his back is turned, Mitch kisses him, and of course Auston kisses back, and by the time they come up for air, Willy’s gone.

“Man, we should kiss all the time,” Mitch says.

“We should,” Auston agrees. “But we should go to one of our apartments first.”

“Fair enough,” Mitch says, but leans into kiss Auston anyway.

“I’m excited to be your boyfriend,” Auston says. “Even if you just made me a part of the world’s lamest coming out joke. Mr. Brightside deserves better.”

“I’ll cover whatever meme-fines they decide to hit us with,” Mitch says.

“Nice to see chivalry isn’t dead,” Auston says.

“Yep. And for the record, I’m excited to be your boyfriend too,” Mitch says. “It’ll be tough to figure out an anniversary.”

“We can work that out later,” Auston says. “Here, you can read me the team’s reactions while I drive us to my place.”

“Maybe we could get lunch together. Second date and all that,” Mitch says.

“Sounds like a plan,” Auston says. “Only if you let me stop and buy you flowers on the way.”

“We can do that if you let me pay,” Mitch says.

“You drive a hard bargain,” Auston deadpans.

“You like it,” Mitch says.

* * *

_Willy: they’re making out in the equipment room rn_

_Marty: congrats boys!_

_Brownie: @Hyman THIS EXPLAINS IT_

_Brownie: Congratsssss!!!_

_Naz: [image attached]_

_Naz: Jazzy is happy 4 u!!!_

_Mo: woohoo congrats!!!_

_JVR: i’m happy as your teammate / supportive as your ycp ambassador_

_JVR: but as finemaster…_

_Gards: beauties!!!_

_Freddie: give them a grace period before fines start @JVR_

_Mitch: thanks guys!!!!!_

_Mitch: matts says thanks too!_

_Mitch: [image attached]_

_Willy: @JVR fine this_

_Willy: no kissing pictures that’s so basic_

_Brownie: can we fine past offenses_

_Hyman: seconding that_

_Brownie: sexiling, so much sexiling_

_Auston: it’s a cheek kiss @Willy ur weak af_

_Mitch: and we’re cute af_


	2. Podfic

So, I made a podfic of this story for anyone who's interested! I don't think it's super common for an author to podfic their own work? But I did this anyway. Thanks to silverandblue for the AMAZING cover art <3 

 

[[ **.mp3 download link**](https://www.mediafire.com/file/o0blhiib85a86bw/%5Bhockey%20rpf%5D%20think%20we%27re%20overthinking%20it.mp3)]

Size: 125MB 

Length: 2:16:26

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings: 
> 
> -One instance of the word "slut," when a character makes reference to a "slutty phase"
> 
> -A character sees a male character have sex with numerous men while that character remains in the closet. The closeted character eventually comes out and learns that the other character saw them hooking up with men before, and is not upset by it. 
> 
> -Two male characters, both of whom are closeted, are making out, and another character walks in on them, effectively outing them. They are not upset by the incident. 
> 
> -A celebrity runs into a previous sexual partner and is upset to learn that the partner was aware of his celebrity status, as this celebrity does not sleep with fans on principle. 
> 
> -I didn't wanna tag for Mitch/others, but there are mentions of him hooking up with a number of other dudes. Nothing is described in detail, and it's only at the beginning of the fic.
> 
> Bonus Content: 
> 
> -Straight people can be really, really oblivious. I once convinced a coworker I was matching with women on Tinder because I wanted to make friends. Anything is possible. 
> 
> -There's a deleted scene where Brownie is like "hey that one time in the supply closet?" and Mitch and Auston are like "mmhmm yep" and he's like "oh man I totally suspected something but didn't speak up because I figured it was private." No one believes him. 
> 
> -Zach Werenski in this is the closest thing to a self-insert that I've ever written. Also he's so fake. He didn't guess about Mitch and Auston based on the looks they were giving each other, Auston snapped him once wearing Mitch's shirt and then snapped a picture of Mitch wearing the same shirt a few days later. Also he just sends way too many snaps of Mitch. 
> 
> -I know the real Auston is somewhat allergic to cats but he really seems like he'd get along well with them. 
> 
> -"Marty and Mitch makeover montage" is a fic that needs to exist because that was what was happening while Auston was petting Jazzy. 
> 
> -One Time Mitch almost came out to Marty:  
> Marty: why don't you hang out with girls  
> Mitch: I prefer dudes  
> Marty: but you can't have sex with dudes  
> Mitch: *under his breath* not with that attitude  
> Marty: what  
> Mitch: what  
> ...this happened a lot
> 
> -Also, poor Brownie and Hyman: 
> 
> Brownie: so do our road roomies hate us or just really like each other?  
> Hyman: I think it's each other? I'm a decent roommate  
> Brownie: we should figure out what's going on with them.  
> Hyman: like, why they keep switching? Good question. 
> 
> They make a list of reasons, which includes: evil plans, secretly superheroes, dating, planning to go into business together, planning a coup, secretly taking dance lessons and want to practice, secret gaming YouTube channel.
> 
> -I'm so sorry about the word "Mitchuation"
> 
>  
> 
> [Come talk to me on Tumblr!](https://lottswrites.tumblr.com)


End file.
